What happens in Vegas
by codename.penguin
Summary: This is what happens when you have a teenage mathematical genius growing up in Las Vegas with limited parental supervision.
1. In bright lights

**This is what happens when you have a teenage mathematical genius growing up in Las Vegas with limited parental supervision.**

**I have been a little anxious about this story because so many people have asked me to write it. I hope that it lives up to your expectations. I also hope the switching between places and times is not too confusing. I have tried to use the names Spencer and Reid to distinguish between the two realities.**

Chapter 1- In bright lights

_17 years ago_

The girl's eyes widened as the pebble landed in the crease of her open book and in one swift motion she jumped off the table and landed in the dirt. With a frown that would have done Attila the Hun proud, she placed her bunched hands on her waist and glared around seeking out her attacker.

Don't show them any fear, her uncle always lectured her.

She yelped furiously as another pebble hit her square in the forehead.

'You come out, you coward!!' she bellowed at the nearby bushes beyond the fence, having determined where the homemade missile had originated from. After all it was just a simple matter of wind speed, aerodynamics and trajectory.

The face that peered out at her through the fence filled her with happiness and relief. Furtively she signaled to the boy to wait as she slowly edged towards toward him. There would be hell to pay if anyone saw them.

'Spence, you should join the baseball team! You have an incredible arm' she whispered excitedly.

'Actually' he hiccupped nervously, 'I was aiming for the table. Are you alright?'

The excitable red hair stared at him in horror, 'AM I alright? What happened to you? Where have you been?'

'Huh, nothing happened to me' he replied with a frown as her bright blue eyes roamed over his unpressed clothes, 'I am right here'

'Spencer, you are such a horrible lair' she shook her head and her ringlets swayed with the brisk motion.

'I have stress, okay?' he snapped.

At that the young lady rolled her eyes.

'Spence, you're ten. What sort of stress could you possible have?'

'My dad's gone'

She stared at him waiting for him to finish his sentence.

'Gone where?' she prodded.

The little boy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, 'I don't know and I don't care'

For the first time, she suddenly noticed how dirty and grimy her genius classmate was. The only thing that looked normal about him was his face, but even the good washing he had given it could not conceal his red rimmed eyes behind the owlish glasses.

The little girl wriggled her hand through the wire and gently held on to his wrist, 'Let me tell my Uncle Bob. He can find anybody in Vegas!'

The little boy shook his head vehemently causing his long hair to cascade into his eyes, 'I don't think he's in Vegas anymore and anyway I don't want to see him. He's weak!!!'

She swallowed fearfully. She didn't like this new look on her gentle friend.

'Spence, let's tell someone. The teacher is going to come to your house if you miss anymore days' she whispered earnestly.

'Yeah….that's why I am here. Can you give her this note?' he replied, 'it's from my mum'

She took the battered looking envelope suspiciously. Whenever Spencer started to talk quickly, he was always hiding something.

'Kate, do you have money?' he asked

She blinked a couple of times at this odd request but immediately pulled out her Back street Boy's wallet and handed him several crisp new bills.

'My uncle always has money lying around, it's fine' she reassured him as she observed his scared expression.

Spencer quickly counted the money.

'I'll pay you back!' he promised and turned to go, 'thank you Kate'

She pulled on his wrist to prevent him form leaving.

'Tell me where you live and I'll bring more' she demanded, her voice breaking a little in fear. Something was horribly wrong, she could feel it!

He shook his head and then started to freak out when he saw her eyes fill with tears.

'If it wasn't for me, Chris and his gang would have shoved your head in the toilet' she sobbed noisily hiding her face so he wouldn't notice the lack of tears.

The boy effortlessly stuck his thin arms through the fence and gave her hug.

'Don't cry!' he tried to shush her, looking around in alarm in case anyone heard.

'Haven't I been a good friend?' she tried to guilt him, 'I've never asked you for anything!!!!'

'Alright' he yelled a little louder than he wanted to inorder to be heard over her nerve wracking wails.

Gah, he was such a marshmallow!!! It's no wonder he got picked on. Quickly he scribbled his address on the book she shoved at him.

'Bring as much money as you can, okay?' he begged her, blanching when she gave him a kiss to go with her hug.

Gross, he thought, but said nothing as she had thankfully stopped crying.

'I'll be there at seven' she said happily.

* * *

_Present day_

'Earth to Reid' Morgan said waving his hand energetically in his team mate's face.

SSA Spencer Reid glanced up to see Penny, Derek and Emily all looking at him, obviously waiting for him to say something.

'Sorry, I didn't get that last part' the genius lied, stalling for time.

Morgan irritably pointed to the brochure in the young doctor's hands.

'Las Vegas, **The Venetian**, fantastic package offer, tickets to see Alicia Keys live in concert' the dark profiler succinctly summarized with a dreamy look on his face.

'You really want to spend the weekend with the people that you work with' the boy asked curiously, leaning forward to better hear the man's answer.

Morgan frowned at this question, 'No. I want to spend the weekend with my friends'

Everyone grinned at the quick blush and pleased smile on the young profiler's face.

'We just need a fourth to round out our merry band of brave adventurers' Garcia replied colourfully, pinning him with a pointed stare.

The genius looked around and caught sight of the blonde communications officer, 'you want someone fun, JJ will go with you'

The young woman sighed and shook her head, 'you know I want to'

'BUT!' Garcia interrupted pouting playfully, 'we're not good enough for JJ anymore'

Emily piped up with an unhelpful, 'But you can't blame her Garcia, did you SEE the guy she's with?'

'Guy?' the computer tech said in a voice of mock horror, 'Didn't you get the memo sweetheart? It's GUYS, as in plural'

JJ grimaced at the flak she was getting from her girlfriends. It wasn't her fault that she hardly ever saw Will and Henry as much as she would like to.

'Well what about Rossi?' her son's godfather suggested before Emily could add on another quip to Garcia's outrageous banter.

'Reid' Morgan replied perching on the edge of his desk, 'the man doesn't even know who Alicia Keys is!!!'

The genius profiler bowed his head under the weight of all the hopeful stares. This was crazy, he couldn't go! He would just tell Morgan that and be done with it. Gently he brushed his thumb against the name of the Casino hostess that was offering the special. Reid always knew Kate's name would wind up in bright lights.

'Okay, I am in'

**Anote: The Venetian is one of the hotel casinos located on the Vegas strip. **


	2. Desperate measures

**Anote: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and have already favourited this chapter. You guys rock!**

Chapter 2- Desperate measures

_17 years ago_

'Don't park infront the house' Kate snapped at her driver.

The burly man swiveled in his seat to glare at the spoilt bundle of mischief that he was chauffeuring.

'Ms. Kate, my life won't be worth err…spit, if anything happens to you' he rumbled pleadingly to her.

He would never live this down with the boys if they ever realized how the boss' niece had him twisted around her little finger.

'It's okay, Doug' the beautiful thirteen year old replied, 'you can say shit if you want to'

The poor man almost crashed the car.

'Ms. Kate!!!' he gasped in horror and frowned as she rolled her eyes, 'that's not ladylike and stuff'

'Why is everyone so afraid of my Uncle Bob?' she asked curiously, 'the man's a teddy bear'

The driver reflexively stared at the license plate of the car that had driven past, 'with all due respect ma'am, that's not the man I know'

Just then, the little girl pointed to a dark spot under some trees, 'Here's the plan. You stay here and I will run up to his house. Look he's already on his porch waiting for me'

The driver looked up and down the street. It was a really nice neighbourhood, one where all the doctors and lawyers lived. He must be crazy for even considering this as he pulled into the indicated spot. If anything happened to his employee's niece, he would dead by tomorrow.

As he contemplated these black thoughts, a pair of arms came round the headrest to hug his neck.

'You're the best!' she praised him, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

'Don't stop for anything' he warned as she slid out the backseat, 'go straight up the steps and close the door behind you'

Doug, driver/bodyguard/enforcer/last resort babysitter, watched in fear as his young charge skipped along the well manicured sidewalk. He hadn't realized he was holding his breath until she raced inside holding hands with her skinny friend.

'Oh wow' Kate commented as she looked around the richly appointed living room and tastefully decorated dining area, 'this is much better than my place'

Spencer looked again with fresh eyes. It was all just furniture to him.

'Thanks for coming' he said nervously glancing up the stairs, hoping fervently that now would not be the time that his mum decided to wake up.

'Why is it so dark in here?' she asked curiously as she tried out the sofa.

She noticed the strategically placed ashtrays on the side board, 'wow, you guys have an awesome housecleaner! Ours could never get the smell of the smoke out of the carpet'

Kate was too observant for her own good and besides which she deserved better. She had been his loyal friend ever since he had been placed in Advanced Mathematics. A bit of a brainiac herself she had taken him under her wing, giving him a safe harbor from the unfriendly stares and taunts of the bigger boys in the class.

He took one of her hands and walked into the adjoining rooms that were not visible from the front door.

'Oh my god! Spencer, you've been robbed!' she yelled running forward to the telephone that was now sitting on the ground all by it's lonesome.

She picked up the receiver and was relieved to hear the dial tone. Quickly she dialed the emergency number just as the gangly boy reached over and took the handle from her.

'I wasn't robbed' he said quietly, silently praying that she wouldn't start crying again, 'I sold the furniture'

'What?' she asked blankly as he hung up the phone and sat cross legged infront of her.

He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again as he looked down at his ratty sneakers and tugged agitatedly on the carpet fibers with his long fingers.

'Spencer?'

'The mortgage payment is coming up and I am not sure if my dad's going to cover his share' he admitted and promptly burst into tears.

Kate crawled over to him and put her arms around his bony shoulders as he sobbed unrestrainedly into her favourite pink blouse.

She looked at the opposite wall, thinking and planning. First they would need pizza, then they would write down their options and find Spencer's aunties, uncles or grandparents. Kate already knew that Mrs. Reid was sickly. The poor woman was probably bedridden with grief at the desertion of her husband. Her little friend was probably making a mountain out of a mole hill, she decided, as he hunted his pockets for his hanky. For all they knew, Mr. Reid could already be on his way home, having realized how stupid he had been. As she patted the thin back comfortingly, Kate gasped loudly as she caught sight of a beautiful picture on the wall, decorated with wavy lines and pretty writing.

* * *

_Present day_

Garcia peered over Reid's shoulder as her team mate stared at a painting in The Venetian's foyer. The motherly young woman had been worried about him as he seemed distracted and unhappy for the entire flight. Concerned, the woman had followed him as he strode away from their little group at the check in counter. So intense was his analysis of the artwork that she was sure he didn't realize she was there

'Hey REID!' she yelled in his ear and laughed when he jumped comically.

'Garcia!!!' he scolded, 'are you trying to give me a heart attack?'

She grinned unrepentantly and took a peek at what had caught her honey bear's eye.

'Is that an illuminated manuscript?' she asked reverently, absorbing the flowing script and elegant calligraphy that could have only come from a master's hand.

He smiled wistfully and reached out a hand towards its protective case, 'a fine example of the books they produced in the15th century'

'Whoa' she commented in awe 'your mother would really dig this'

'You have no idea' he replied letting his hand fall to his side.


	3. Foolishly optimistic

**Anote: I started thanking everyone who put this story on story alert but I stopped after ten. You guys make it all worthwhile. Thanks a bunch and hello to all the new people like '**_**addicted2fic; Kae Gates; Wizard of all Genres, breeners, Queen Narca**_** and all a host of others'. Unfortunately I can't post everyday as I usually do, but I will try to do so everyday. New episode tonight!**

Chapter 3-Foolishly optimistic

_17 years ago_

His appetite had come back with a vengeance as Spencer picked up his fourth slice of pizza and stuffed it into his mouth, much to Kate's dismay. All this worry for nothing, he thought, as he glanced at the framed artwork on the wall. Who would have thought a torn out page from a book would be worth so much?

'Are you sure I can get so much money for the parchment?' he asked again, 'that would cover the mortgage for a whole year!'

The dainty young woman picked up a napkin and wiped the tomato sauce from his cheek, 'I am sure and my uncle would give you a fair price for it. He's nutso for this sort of thing'

Spencer glanced again at the piece that looked down at their mini picnic on the carpet of what was once the study. It was reassuring to know that if his father decided to cut ties with all moral decency and not pay the mortgage, he and his mother wouldn't lose the house. The overlooked artwork was also small and portable and he could easily carry it around if he needed to have it appraised. Not that he would consider selling it unless it was absolutely necessary as it was one of the few objects, other than her precious books, that could stir his mother to any semblance of animation and normal conversation.

'I am really glad you came Kate' he added sincerely, picking up his fifth slice.

Her little nose wrinkled in horror as the bottomless pit aka her best friend Spence, shoveled another piece of pie into his mouth. It was so unfair that he had such an incredible metabolism and she dropped her slice unto his napkin in annoyance.

'Fanks' he said around a mouthful of pineapple.

The little girl drew some of his charts towards her and squinted at her classmate's horrendous handwriting. It took a minute for her to decipher the chicken scratch that past for penmanship in Spencer's book before she realized what she was looking at. The little boy had drawn up schedule after schedule for everything under the sun. He had a timetable for cleaning the house, he had one for his mum's exercise routine, and he even had one for the meals they would eat on what days, charting the progress of the leftovers. She put these aside and looked over the short lists of things to buy and the much longer ones of things that could be sold. It grieved her little heart that the boy had shouldered such responsibilities. Why the only thing she had to worry about when she was ten, was if shoes matched her purse when she went to church on Sunday.

Spencer took the list of things to be sold from her hand and studied it as he finished off his dinner with a burp.

'There are a lot of other antiques in the house' he commented contemplatively, pushing his glasses up his nose, 'can you take a look at them for me?'

She frowned and tried to bring the topic back to what they were discussing earlier, 'Why can't we call your mum's brother? You shouldn't have to be dealing with all this. That's what adults are for'

In some frustration the little boy crossed his arms across his thin chest and glared at her. She immediately copied the action and matched his frown.

How could he tell her that he was afraid that his uncle would take one look at the situation and cart his difficult mother off to the nearest hospital as his father always threatened to do? She wasn't that sick, he could manage it. And besides family should stick together, ALWAYS!

'I already said…' he sighed miserably, 'I have my reasons Kate, please?'

She reached over and scornfully pointed a finger at his mum's activity schedule, 'Do you really think you can make this work? Life doesn't work like that!'

And to illustrate her point the young woman grabbed a slice of pizza and smacked it, sauce side down on the nearest list.

'That's what happens, when you're not looking' she warned him as he yelped and immediately grabbed a fistful of napkins, trying to save his work.

'Being alive is unpredictable Spence, everything is all great and then bang your whole life changes in the blink of an eye.'

The compassionate boy reached over and squeezed her hand as she stared off into the distance. He just knew instinctively she was thinking about her parents who were gunned down by bad guys when she was a little girl.

* * *

_Present day_

'Reid' Morgan asked in some confusion as he looked down at the excel spread sheet in his hands, 'what's this?'

The young agent looked up from where he was neatly packing his underwear in the dresser provided, 'Oh it's a timetable of all the events and activities everyone wants to get done'

He looked over the dark profiler's shoulder pointing out the salient features.

'See that's you in grey, Garcia in pink and Em's in red' he elaborated for his bemused friend, 'and here in this column is the spa, swimming pool, the malls, the club and the concert'

If it was anyone else, Morgan would have already been discretely shuffling out the double occupancy suite but he wasn't alarmed. He knew from first hand experience that his friend's big brain was wired differently from the rest of most people.

'This is incredible' the man praised his colleague, 'when did you…?'

The young doctor cracked a pleased smile, 'On the plane, I couldn't sleep. I knew everyone wanted to do lots of different things so I thought I could give you some options as to how you can make it all work in a two day time frame'

'Where are you?' the man asked distractedly, already mentally booking himself for a massage before the gala dinner as Reid's nifty chart suggested.

Quickly the boy turned around to unpack his socks giving a mumbled answer as a response. From the corner of his eye, he watched gratefully as his colleague sank onto his bed, bald head fully immersed in the colour coded table. The genius profiler crumpled his favourite pair of striped socks in his long fingers, wondering if he wasn't being foolishly optimistic in unpacking his bags for the weekend.


	4. Never forget

Chapter 4- Never forget

_17 years ago_

'How much do you have?' he asked her as he doubled checked his stack of bills.

Kate neatly boxed the money in her fingers to tidy the pile, 'Seven hundred dollars'

'That's four thousand and eighty three dollars and fifty cents' he said somberly staring at the pile of light green paper that had caused him so much heartache and worry over the past fortnight.

She watched as he propped his chin in on the heel of his hand as he was wont to do when thinking.

'Is that enough?' she inquired anxiously, 'in case your dad doesn't pay'

For a moment Spencer resembled the little boy that he was as he flopped unto his back, with hands outstretched to stare at the ceiling. But instead of saying something like, 'Mommy, why can't I go outside today?' he replied with a 'Just barely if we eat cheese and crackers for about a month'

The little redhead crawled over to him and laid her head gently on his pizza engorged tummy, 'What about you mum's savings?'

Her head moved up and down rapidly as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. His mum had taken her husband's departure hard and had stopped eating and taking her medications. It would be awhile yet before she could go out in public and add his name to all her accounts. Spencer had already examined all the household finances and determined that they could survive more or less comfortably on the stipend from the university that she obtained for grading papers but ONLY if his dad continued to make his house payments. Barring any serious catastrophes in the future, mother and son could cope until he got a job. They could stay together, like how a family was supposed to.

'But what if dad doesn't come through for us?' a dark voice whispered in his mind.

His gut clenched in fear as he thought about Kate's words. She was smart and brave. She didn't bury her head in the sand like other people and he would be stupid not to heed her warning. But one crisis at a time, he reminded himself. Survive the end of the month bill payments and then get his mum to the bank to redo her accounts.

'I'm working on it' he replied simply, not wanting to elaborate on all the concerns that were tearing him apart inside.

She wanted to ask him what he was thinking but didn't want to press the issue. The painfully shy boy had opened up much more than she expected. She was staggered by his bravery and courage. She didn't know a single boy at her school who would have handled the situation which as much calm, grace and strength as he had. It was this inner core that had attracted her to him in the first place. The peace that he carried around was a like a beacon to her scarred soul that she couldn't ignore. At first she had just stared at him from across the row as he bowed his back and toiled diligently with his studies, never so much as blinking as their much older classmates threw paper planes and spit balls at him. One time there was a note passing around that declared that he was freak. The budding genius had opened it, read it, made a scribble and then passed it on to the person on his left. She could have died laughing when she read it and realized that he had corrected his tormentor's bad spelling. They had become fast friends ever since that day.

Spencer reached down and patted her head indicating that he wanted to get up.

'I'll never forget this' he said shyly as she stared at him.

Wanting to break the somber mood, Kate reached out and tapped him playfully on the nose, 'Yeah right …you will be a big noble prize winner and forget all about me! Come on and walk me to my car'

* * *

_Present day_

'How do I look?' Emily asked as she sashayed infront one of the casinos mirrors, 'think I can get some action with this dress?'

The brunette scowled at the genius profiler, resting her hands on her hips as Reid ignored her as he walked past. She jogged as quickly as she dared in her higher than high, killer stilettos.

'Reid?' she called, managing to just snag his elbow with her arm.

'Oh hi!' he said in surprise, 'wow, this colour looks awesome on you!'

'You okay?' she asked ignoring his gracious compliment, 'you seem more distracted than normal'

They had to slow their speed as they meet up with the large congregation of persons also partaking of the special Las Vegas package.

'I am fine' he lied, encircling her waist with his arm as male heads began to turn with interested looks in her direction.

Quickly he dragged her across the room to safety, as Garcia and Morgan were already waiting for the opening night gala, on the far side of the ballroom.

'Why did you use Henry's name at the check in, then?' she pressed anxiously as his eyes swept the room,'is there something you are not telling us?'

The sense of déjà vous brought him back to the present and he leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. Another brunette, who was also older than him, had asked him the same question years ago.

He was anxious to see Kate again of course, but that was not the reason his heart was beating like a drum on steroids.

This was ridiculous, the past was behind him. He was now a decorated FBI agent for Pete's sake!

However, his brave words couldn't quite prevent the tremble in his fingers as he slowly pulled off his sunglasses and looked up to stare at the surveillance camera.


	5. Waiting

**Anote: Hmmm… I am rereading all the chapters so far and I realize that they are all very dark and depressing as could be expected I suppose. I will try to have Garcia work some comedic magic but that will come maybe in chapter 10 or the other. Hope you are enjoying it so far. Thanks to all my faithful reviewers**

Chapter 5- Waiting

_17 years ago_

Spencer was making a valiant attempt to catch up on all the homework that Kate had brought over. It wasn't too difficult but the Spanish was going to be a problem. He really needed to get an audio tape from the language department because he was sure his pronunciation by now was atrocious.

Today had been one of the good days, although his heart had almost leapt out of his chest when his mom had descended the stairs with her hair perfectly coiffed, wearing a beautiful pants suit. She had even managed to make spaghetti and meatballs and he had happily joined her in the kitchen, taking careful notes as she stirred the pot. It would be great to eat something other than the scrambled eggs and canned soup that were the only things he really knew how to prepare.

The fact that he was at home on a weekday and not in school, didn't even seem to register with her.

He had excitedly set the table pleased to have a reprieve from the never ending nightmare that his life had become. As he inhaled his lunch as all growing boys tended to, he only belatedly realized that his mum had stopped eating and was staring into space. Of course he had promptly lost his appetite but he preserved and powered through the rest of the meal, knowing that he would need to keep his strength up. What would they do if he got sick now? His mum needed him. The boy popped her plate into the microwave, hoping she would eat later and he gently escorted her back upstairs. He tried to focus on the positive. She had taken her medication which had lead to her being lucid enough to shower and dress without supervision. She had also prepared a nutritious meal for them both. All in all a good morning, he decided, as he tucked her in to take a well deserved nap.

It couldn't have come on a better day as far as he was concerned as he raised his head from his Spanish verbs to stare at the phone.

The phone stared back silently.

Thank goodness Kate was going to come over soon to wait with him. She was a little late, but hopefully was on her way. He didn't think his stomach could handle it, if he had to wait all alone until his mum's bank called to let him know if his father's mortgage payment had been received. He had the money sitting on an envelope on the dining room table next to him, ready to be paid in case the answer was a no. He hadn't quite figured out how a ten year old was going to walk into the mortgage company with three thousand dollars to pay the debt without raising a red flag but he would cross that bridge if it came to him.

Of course, it made much more sense, if they sold the house and got something smaller. Even renting out the four bed roomed home and using the money to pay for a smaller place was more feasible than the two of them rattling around in the huge house, with its large echoed filled rooms. He had thought of it all but had discarded each idea. It was imperative that they not draw too much attention to their situation by nosy adults. One whiff of something wooly and they would be on the social service's radar. On the other hand, this would be a moot point if they couldn't keep up the mortgage.

The little boy quickly glanced at the wall clock forgetting for the millionth time that he had already sold the piece to contribute to the stack of money that was keeping him company.

For the love of peanut butter, where was Kate?!! The little girl was always late for everything! It was one of the things that drove him around the bend.

Determinedly he forced his eyes back to his school books. He had to keep his grades up; a scholarship was the only option for them now.

Just then the phone rang and Spencer started violently, knocking his Spanish text unto the ground. He hurried forward as he didn't even have the luxury of staring at the phone in horror like other people since he didn't want his mum to be disturbed by its shrill ring. The little boy took a deep breath and spoke into the receiver.

'Good evening' he said politely and listened as the bank manager introduced himself.

'I'm sorry she can't come to the phone right now. This is her son, can I take a message?'

He frowned at the man's response.

'Mr. Bartlett, my mum had been waiting all day for your call' he lied effortlessly, 'she said you would have a yes or no answer for her?'

As Mr. Bartlett made a comment, the plastic on the phone began to squeak as it was being slowly crushed in the little boy's hand.

'Sir, are you sure? Please verify, this is important' he commanded urgently, dropping all pretense now.

He waited as Mr. Bartlett checked his figures.

'Thank you' he said weakly and hung up before the man could become even more suspicious.

Spencer hurried upstairs and kicked off his socks and shoes before sliding into his mum's bed, grateful for her solid warmth as he burrowed into her arms.

* * *

_Present day_

_'_I think something's happening now' Garcia remarked poking Reid in his side to get his attention from where he was staring off in space.

A beautifully dressed, salon fresh young woman was standing on a raised platform on the edge of the ballroom.

'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Venetian' she said brightly to her audience, 'My name is Cassandra and I will be your hostess for this evening'

'Where's Kate?' the young agent asked in concern interrupting her carefully crafted introduction.

The rest of the team looked at Reid in surprise. It was unusual for their youngest to speak up infront of a crowd when there was no Unsub in sight. What was wrong with him tonight?

The artificial blonde turned her high voltage smile unto her guest, 'Kate is running a little late but she will be with us shortly'

Reid rolled his eyes in exasperated amusement. He couldn't believe she would be late for the function she organized but being the boss's niece probably gave her some flexibility.


	6. Perceived danger

**Anote: I am so glad that I am getting positive feedback on Kate. I for one don't like extra characters or OC's as they are called, but I really needed someone for Reid to interact with to flesh out the story line of his growing up days. Oh and before I forget Kate sends a special hello to **_**addictedtofic **_**and **_**momma.**_

Chapter 6- Perceived danger

Every time, SSA Spencer Reid lectured at a university or community centre it was inevitable that someone would ask him how he became involved in criminology. For him there was no one answer for that. It seemed as though the childhood he had experienced, the friends that he had met and the choices that he made all had guided him to the life he lead today. But he would definitely have to say that the broken water main had played a part.

Things had been going so well.

His father appeared to have committed himself to paying the entire mortgage, thereby freeing up much needed funds to ensure that he and his mum were comfortable. With this good news his mother had rebounded and with the strength of will that always characterized her, she began to fight her illness with a vengeance. Within a month of his father's departure from their lives, he was able to return to school. At school, his mathematics teacher had signed him up for several scholarships and he was happily planning a project that would blow the socks off any review panel with half a brain. He didn't have much time for anything else, but Kate didn't seem to mind sitting with him in the library or the lab as he tinkered with his experiments perfecting his 'mad scientist' work as she fondly referred to it.

Of course there were times when his mother would fall off the wagon and he would come home to find a kettle whistling unheeded on the stove or his mum still in bed. Even years later as a grown man, he would still pause and take a deep breath before entering his own house. But these instances of endangerment were becoming progressively fewer and further apart and even though he had to fake an occasional illness to stay home with her for a few days, Spencer began to experience something he hadn't felt in a long time.

He began to have hope.

But Kate had been right. Even with his carefully laid plans, life was going on at a frenetic and unpredictable pace. Mother and son had survived the first year but they had not been as fortunate with the next. First it had been the washing machine that had conked out, then some drama he was yet to figure out with his mum's health care provider had resulted in an increase in her heath insurance. By the time October had rolled around he started to panic again. They had already used up all the money that he had allocated for the year, and if one more thing happened they were going to venture into that dark murky abyss called credit.

That same night, the water main had burst flooding the entire ground floor.

There was no help for it, and the little boy put Plan B into motion the next day. He had been thinking about it off and on for a little over two years now. Other boys made extra money with a paper route or helping at a store but he wasn't physically strong enough for either activity. To be honest, the only things he was good at involved using his mind. His little side hobby had started out innocently enough. Greg, the constantly unemployed/jack of all trades neighbourhood handyman, had showed him how to play card games and he in turn attempted to teach the man some chess. Of course when Greg discovered that people who played chess didn't as a rule gamble, he had opted out of the lessons. But Spencer was captivated by the games the man showed him especially poker. The combination of statistics and probability theory all masked by the human factor of deceit and trickery fascinated him. After his mother had gone to bed, he would sneak Greg in and they would play a few hands and gradually the boy had improved to the point that he was giving Greg pointers.

Naturally the man had wanted to know what Spencer's system was but after a few minutes the man's eyes had glazed over. He had never heard anyone who could reel off books like his young friend did. Still, he managed to pick up a useful tip or two and had come to the house one day with two hundred dollars in winnings. The two of them had snuck out and bought ice cream and pizza with the obligatory beer for Greg to celebrate with.

Spencer glanced at the other man who was on his hands and knees next to him, helping him mop up the mess from the water damage. The little boy peeked around and finding that Kate had left to empty her bucket he scooted closer to the handyman.

'Greg?' he began furtively, 'you remember that poker night you were telling me at your friend Dave's house'

'Huh?' he asked distractedly as he rang out his cloth, 'I think this carpets a goner Spen'

That was obvious but the little boy had more pressing matters to discuss.

'Greg!!' he snapped, 'Focus! The game?'

The handyman scratched his head, 'Yeah Dave, yup, every Thursday night'

Greg went back to mopping the floor, completely clueless to the wheels spinning in his young employer's head.

* * *

Morgan looked around as the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. This couldn't be happening, not on his vacation. Maybe he was imagining things. He glanced hopefully at Emily but the expression on her face shot down that vain wish. She looked over at him in dismay as she had also registered the sudden increase in casino security in their corner. He shook his head at her, warning her not to get involved unless absolutely necessary. Except for the knot of patrons making serious inroads in the shrimp buffet, nothing else seemed amiss.

Oblivious to this unspoken conversation, Garcia almost choked on a mouthful of cheese as she and Reid engaged in a friendly eating competition. Reid was clearly in the lead because unlike her, he could control his laughter.

'Alright, I give up' she snorted covering her mouth to prevent her from spraying cheese bits on Emily's beautiful knee length dress.

'I don't get it' she wondered out loud staring at his whip cord frame, 'where does it all go?'

All of a sudden Morgan bumped her from the side hustling them along.

'Whoa, where's the fire?' she grumbled just managing to snag her rum and coke as he propelled them towards a table near the wall.

As the dark profiler selected the table closest to the exit, Reid instinctively became aware of the perceived danger and turned to distract Garcia by stealing food off her plate. Without conscious thought, Morgan and Emily settled on the more exposed seats at the table, angling their bodies so that the more fragile members of the team were protected. After a few minutes the two profilers began to relax as no threat materialized. Emily slowly loosened her grip on the fork that she held on her lap and Morgan tucked the leg with his ankle gun underneath the table.

Dr. Reid, however, had completely lost his appetite.


	7. Just walk away

**Anote: I realize now, I need disclaimers as I am using the name of an actual casino in my story. I do not own any of the characters or buildings used in this story** **and it is purely for non profit entertainment purposes. Hello **_**MagicalMitch.**_

Chapter 7- Just walk away

_15 years ago_

Greg couldn't believe that he had let his young friend convince him to do this but there they both sat, side by side like a pair of mismatched twins at Dave's poker table. Greg's friends had been aghast at the appearance of this young person at their recreational night and there was a flurry of movement as the men snuffed out cigarettes and hid their glasses of brandy behind books and throw cushions. However, those concerns faded when faced with the spectacle that was unfolding before them.

Greg was a good guy to have around on poker night. Not only was he fun and go lucky, he could fix a leaky toilet in a crunch but no one would ever say he was a good player. That night the man had been in dazzling form, wheeling and dealing as effortlessly as if he was brushing his teeth. Somehow he managed to win every hand even though he jumped at every sound and started whenever someone came into the room.

Truth be told, Greg was glad that his 'nephew' handled his hand of cards because he couldn't pull himself together. Every moment that had ticked by he expected to see Mrs. Reid walk into the room and swing a baseball bat at his head. For all the woman's odd ways, she loved her son fiercely. Greg had pondered how he had gotten himself roped into this scheme as the little boy reached over, discarded two cards and replaced them with fresh ones to create what the older man knew was another winning hand.

Spencer had kicked him gently under the table and the bemused handyman laid down his cards to the general moans of disgust of his poker buddies. By the time the last game had been dealt the dynamic duo had managed to accumulate over a thousand dollars. Spencer's eyes had widened in surprise as Greg's friends had stood up and given the little boy a rousing and slightly rude round of applause. He hadn't expected this reaction at all but he shut his mouth and smiled, accepting the sips of alcohol he was offered from the large bottle on the table. With hearty slaps on the back, he was asked to return next week so that they could try and win back their money.

Because of the large sum they had won, the pair had taken a cab back home instead of walking. In the backseat Spencer had counted out the winnings and handed Greg half. The man blinked in shock. What was this? He couldn't accept it, he hadn't done anything but hold the cards in a vertical position. But the little boy had insisted and the man grabbed the fistful of bills and stuffed them deep into his ratty pant's pocket as if afraid his young charge would change his mind.

Even though it was entirely feasible for them to team up again and blaze through the gambling obsessed city of Las Vegas like a fire on steroids, they didn't. Spencer was worried that Kate would find out and Greg was petrified that Diana would notice the two of them creeping in her house at one o'clock in the morning. Plus there was the added element that not everybody would be so good natured about losing their money to two pitiful specimens like himself and young Spencer. However, they tried to make Dave's game every chance they could and slowly word leaked out until the man's living room was bursting at the seams.

Everyone, who was similarly possessed by the game, wanted to see the little boy with the big glasses, pull over vest and the poker face of granite. He and Greg had dropped all pretenses now and the boy played solo, while the handyman stood behind the chair eyeing the crowd fearfully not liking the seedy characters that were looking greedily at the boy.

This covert activity had gone on for about five months until one night Greg showed up at Spencer's door all sweaty and wide eyed with fear. He had insisted that the boy stop these nightly activities and extracted a solemn promise from the young man that he would not venture out on his own. The little boy had refused at first. He loved playing, he loved the attention and he loved the fact that all these men valued him as if he was greatest thing since sliced bread. But the handyman had been insistent, even going so far as to threaten to tell his mother if he didn't comply. This had made Spencer pause. Greg hardly ever showed any backbone at all, so this new attitude was a bit alarming. He had reluctantly given the man his word and was shocked when the man scooped him up in an emotional embrace. Greg had turned to walk away but stopped as his young friend had grabbed on to his arm.

The two had stood staring at each other for a long moment before the older man peeled off Spencer's fingers and walked off into the night. He had to see a man about a horse, he had replied jokingly, and the boy had smiled feebly at this attempt of humor. Long after the night had swallowed Greg up, Spencer stood there staring as he felt some nameless fear creep over his mind and nestle in his soul.

* * *

_Present day_

'What should we play tonight?' Garcia asked breathless as she jiggled the complimentary casino chips they had received in their goodie bags, 'I vote for Black Jack'

Emily groaned and dropped her head on Reid's convenient shoulder. The shoes had been a bad idea and all she wanted to do was kick them off and get a foot massage.

'Aren't you tired?' Morgan asked his best friend, 'We've been up since 6 am this morning'

At this the young blonde snorted in amusement, 'oh please, I plan to gamble and party till I fall down on my face. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.'

'Toto?' the dark profiler scowled, 'lead the way Dorothy'

Reid gave Emily a quick squeeze and handed her over to his colleagues. Kate hadn't appeared much to his disappointment and he was suddenly feeling exhausted from the full day of work they had put in earlier that day. Besides which, he really had no intention of walking onto the casino floor during his weekend here. No need to tempt fate.

'Hold up' Morgan commanded as their youngest turned away, 'where are you going?'

'Oh. I thought I would get some rest, I'm bummed' he replied reasonably.

Derek hadn't made inquires like Emily and Penny had but he knew something was off with his big brained colleague.

'Alright, how about we play a few hands and then we all crash for the night' he offered eyeing Garcia meaningfully, hoping she would read the subtext of his dialogue.

'Sounds good to me' she commented, immediately moving to stand behind Reid to block his escape route.

Emily hooked her arm in his again, 'Lend me your shoulder. I think I am going to taker a header in these shoes'

And ignoring his protests, the four of them stepped into the mad world that was Vegas.


	8. This is my home

**Anote: Some of you might have read this chapter before but be assured I have double posted today just for you guys. I changed a couple of things so you should still read it. I hope everyone still likes the story and the way it's going because the reviews have stopped coming as frequently as before :(**

Chapter 8- This is my home

_Present day_

Morgan knocked back his Heineken as the dealer shifted his casino chips to the gleeful woman seated at his side.

'Come to momma' she said reverently as she counted the growing pile infront of her.

Emily on his left patted his hand consoling as he grimaced at Garcia's antics. Lady luck was not smiling on him tonight.

'Reid, get over here and help a brother out' he tossed over his shoulder.

The trio glanced over in some concern as the man in question just smiled saying, 'I am not gambling tonight Morgan'

The looked at each other as Reid continued to stand a little away from them as he absorbed the activity that swirled and eddied about him. He had seemed a little quiet all the way here but now he was a study of emotions. One moment he looked happy and the next sad. Granted Las Vegas didn't hold a lot of pleasant memories for the man if you took his fractured family into account.

Derek threw down his cards in disgust as he lost the next round. He turned around to summon a waitress but froze as he saw one of the casino's security guard standing behind Reid, talking intently in his ear. The dark profiler read the guard's body language perfectly.

'Stay' Morgan whispered, as he pressed down hard on Garcia's arm and caught Emily's eye simultaneously.

Slowly he walked up to the guard with his hands held away from his chest in a non threatening manner.

'Good evening sir, is there a problem?' he asked politely even as Reid grunted in pain as his arm was being twisted behind his back, 'this is my friend, is there something wrong?'

No need to whip out their badges as yet. This could be all be some sort of mistake.

The guard nervously took in the flat dead look in the man's eyes, 'No problem sir. Mr. Reid and I just need to chat. You can come along if you want'

Morgan felt his heart sink as the guard identified Spencer by name.

Five other guards surrounding the trio as they quietly walked to an Employee's only entrance. Through it all Reid didn't protest as he blindly went wherever he was pushed. The corridor behind the door was cold and sterile.

'Mr. Reid you know you are not supposed to be here?' the man began in a reasonable tone, letting his 'prisoner' go.

Worriedly Morgan watched as the young man hung his head and stared at the chipped vinyl floor, offering no protest or explanation.

Just then an older man in a three piece suit turned the corner and the guards snapped to attention.

'Bobby!!!' Reid shouted with a pleased smile making his way forward only to be roughly grabbed by the lead guard.

The stylishly dressed man glared at his much taller Head of Security and instantly the boy was released. This man didn't need any bluster to get his point across.

'Sir, he's on the list!' the guard protested weakly as his superior continued to bore a hole in his head with his stare.

'I KNOW he's on the list' the man rumbled ominously, 'I put him there'

Chastised the guards backed away while their boss dealt with the situation.

'Stephen, perhaps you can escort those two young ladies who are listening at the door into this corridor so we can have this discussion in private' he ordered quietly.

'I wasn't gambling sir!' Reid said in a panicked voice, the instant the man looked at him.

The man held up a finger for silence as he patted Reid's back reassuringly.

He suavely turned to the young man's confused and angry friends, 'Hello I'm Robert Goldstein, President of operations here at The Venetian. I hope you are enjoying your stay with us so far'

'Well we were, until your gorillas grabbed my babycakes over here' the colourful blonde snorted.

'It's just a minor misunderstanding Madame' the man said smoothly glancing at said gorillas as they shuffled their feet, 'perhaps I can comp the rest of your stay starting with one of our famous Gondola rides'

'Bob it's okay' Reid said quietly, 'these are my friends. There is nothing you cannot say infront of them'

Goldstein took in the determined and concerned faces that surrounded him and quickly agreed with the younger man's assessment.

'Alright' he said softly, gently turning the slim agent around to face him, 'are you alright? You are not in any trouble?'

Morgan, Garcia and Prentiss all inched closer at this curious exchange.

'No sir, not this time,' he said with a half smile.

The older man returned the sad smile as he knew the same select collection of memories flashed through both their minds at that moment.

'And you are NOT giving your friend's err...any advice…as to how to gamble in my casino?'

Reid pulled himself up stiffly as if he was offended but was trying to ignoring it, 'No, sir'

This answer pleased the older man as he patted the young man's non existent biceps companionably.

'Son, you know I can't let you sit down at the tables?' he asked next in a kindly but with deadly serious tone in his voice.

The boy frowned in misery, 'I know sir! Please don't throw my friends out; I'll stay in my room for the entire weekend!!! PLEASE!!!'

Morgan and Emily looked at Garcia and she shrugged her shoulders. Her all knowing powers did not extend to this perplexing situation.

'Calm down, calm down' the man replied hastily as one of his guards caught his attention.

'Sir…the Bellagio, MGM and Luxor just called' he said hesitantly realising he was the proverbial messenger of bad news, 'they want to know why HE is still here?'

Reid went back to staring at the floor and his long hair blocked out the rest of the world as he crawled into some dark place in his mind.

Goldstein sighed, 'Just tell them that Dr. Reid is a guest at my hotel and I will personally take him to the airport when he is ready to leave'

'But?' the guard began to protest but scurried away as his boss scowled at him.

'You can stay but I don't want you to leave the premises, alright' the casino boss commanded quietly, 'Vegas has a long memory'

'Thank you sir' the young profiler said in relief smiling down at the shorter man infront of him, 'I won't be any trouble, I promise'

For a moment Goldstein looked at the long-limbed man infront of him, and except for the straggly hair he could barely recognize the thirteen year old waif whom he had rescued from a life quickly spiraling out of control.

'Spence, why are you here?' the older man asked.

It was a question that he had wanted to ask as soon as face recognition software had picked out the boy's features, sending an instantaneous amber alert through every casino on the strip.

Reid smiled sadly as he looked around at the unfriendly metal walls lining the service corridor

'This is my home'

**Anote2:Click below for Chapter nine.**


	9. Dancing with the truth

Chapter 9- Dancing with the truth

_Present day_

Gratefully they all piled into the elevator thankful that the altercation with the security guards was more or less uneventful. The three of them looked at Reid as he stared sightlessly at the elevator's closed metal doors.

Morgan decided to take point.

'Kid?'

Reid stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to face them.

'I'm alright' he reassured them.

'I am always happy to know that' Derek replied, inching the conversation forward, 'do you want to tell us what all of that was about?'

Reid looked away thinking.

'Not really' he replied, just as the elevator doors opened with a ding on their floor.

Of course this was not the answer Morgan was looking for and he slapped the control panel closing the doors on the group.

'I am sorry you feel that way' Emily chimed in, 'but Reid I… we really want to know'

More silence filled the elevator.

'It was a long time ago guys' he responded evasively, useless pulling at Morgan's hand to get to the door control.

'Baby, you can tell us anything' Garcia offered quietly, 'what happened to "these are my friends, there is nothing you cannot say infront of them"

He sighed loudly as the computer technician quoted the words he had uttered not fifteen minutes ago.

'Reid' the dark profiler cut in, 'you have to tell us. If there is any danger to you, we should know. It's not right to expose us all to some unknown situation'

Emily nodded in approval at Morgan's approach sure that Reid would crack now. To their collective surprise, he maintained his silence.

'Fine' he said in a stern voice and Reid braced himself, feeling an ultimatum coming.

'You either tell us what's going on or one of us will be glued to your side until we leave on Sunday night'

Reid relaxed his tense shoulders and stuck out his hand to shake Morgan's, 'Done'

Emily and Garcia exchanged chagrined expressions wondering if the genius profiler had deliberately backed his colleague into this corner or if it was just a coincidence. With reluctance, Derek shook the proffered hand as he released the button that held the doors closed. That conversation hadn't gone the way he wanted it to, but he knew his little brother too well to push the issue. Reid was as stubborn as they came and if shoved too hard he might just go off on his own.

'Promise me, that you will stay with one us' the man begged as they walked down the corridor, 'don't do anything to make me regret this decision'

Reid paused to glare at his colleague not appreciating the way the man was crowding him.

Just then Emily noticed the door of the boys' room was open and she signaled to the group. Like a well oiled machine the team moved into action as Reid flattened Garcia against a wall and Morgan took the lead with his gun pointing forward. Knowing her team mate was covering her, Emily walked forward confidently, and she almost collided with a valet wheeling out Morgan's carry all. At the sight of the man's firearm he squeaked and dropped the bag on his foot.

'Oh god!' the poor man yelped, running back into the room he had just vacated.

'What are you doing?' Emily asked the sacred man, as the entire team moved forward cautiously. They peered through the doorway to find a gaggle of hotel personnel packing their belongings.

'Hey!' Morgan yelled, as he hid his gun behind his back.

The staff looked up and the crowd parted as a tiny red head strode forward.

'KATE!!!!!!!' Reid shouted happily, pushing past Morgan to get to the young woman.

The three of them exchanged gleeful glances as Reid attempted to lift the woman off the ground but failed and the two settled on dancing around on the spot. His colleagues had never seen the younger profiler so happy since, well never to be truthful. The two made an odd looking pair, with Reid being so tall and gangly and Kate tiny and buxom but there was no denying the identical looks of pleasure on both their faces.

'Kate, meet everyone' Reid introduced them sloppily, 'everyone, Kate'

Morgan's grin grew even wider as he observed the way the woman stood close in Reid's loose embrace.

'Where have you been?' the young doctor inquired as they looked around the decimated suite 'and what are these men doing?'

She smiled at the group as she straighten Reid's tie, 'You are being upgraded of course. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?'

'What!!?' he blurted out in an appalled voice, 'that's okay we don't need…'

Reid didn't get a chance to finish his statement as Garcia shoved him out the way, 'Is there space for us too?'

'Of course, three bedrooms capable of housing four persons each with attached private bathrooms, Jacuzzi, complimentary bar and cooking facilities if you wish to prepare a meal. There is a shared living room but I think you will find it extremely comfortable' she said with practiced ease, 'may I show you the way?'

Garcia grabbed the woman in a tight hug thanking her profusely for including them. Reid scowled in annoyance as the trio surrounded his friend pushing him even further to one side.

'You must be Derek' the little woman decided confidently looking up at the group of unusually tall persons, 'couldn't miss that beautiful smile'

This statement of course caused the man to smile broadly showing off his perfect teeth.

'And you must be the stately Emily and this must be the unquenchable Penelope' she reeled off, shaking each hand in turn.

Garcia pumped the woman's hand enthusiastically, 'we're so glad to meet you. We've heard SO little about you!!! Why is that Reid?'

Kate turned her head to look at her friend and Garcia gasped as the woman's eyes filled with tears.


	10. They don't know

**Anote: I know I maybe using some unfamiliar terms in my story especially those specific to poker and gambling. Please email me if you need any clarification. **

**For example: A casino host is a man or woman hired by a casino to see to the comfort and needs of guests who usually gamble a lot of money (hundreds of thousands of dollars) in one visit. The logic behind this is if these clients are happy they will gamble more and stay longer thus increasing the casinos revenues. These gamblers are called whales. A casino host will also try to bribe these whales to leave other casinos to gamble at theirs.**

Chapter 10- They don't know

_Present day_

'Kate?' Reid whispered feebly, attempting to hand her his hanky.

Everyone watched in dismay as the woman stepped away from her friend, her body language speaking volumes as she turned away.

'I am sorry' she began wiping her eyes, 'I'm a little tired'

'Please, sit down' Garcia insisted, eager to correct her dreadful blunder, but the red head shook her head.

She tugged firmly on her pearl colored jacket to smooth out imaginary wrinkles and turned to face the worried group. Her professional demeanor was firmly in place as she herded them out of the room and into the elevator. With a musical ding the doors slid open and she walked out with a self-assured stride, expounding on the many services that came with the room. Morgan, Garcia and Emily all hung back hoping that Reid could fix whatever went wrong, but the profiler did nothing except lope along behind her.

The casino hostess waited until they had all gathered before opening the expensive looking doors with a dramatic flourish.

As she expected, all jaws hit the floor.

'Kate, we are just government employees!' Reid interjected hastily on the group's behalf, 'we will never gamble enough in your casino to justify this expense'

She smiled faintly at his modest words. Spencer always under rated how valuable he was as a person.

'I think it's justified' she responded as she opened her arms and hugged him around his middle.

That was all the invitation the others needed and his colleagues stampeded inside, running around the large living area like small children. Reid and Kate slowly walked towards the towering glass windows that looked out at the famous Las Vegas skyline.

'It's wonderful isn't it!?' she commented, having to shout a little to be heard over Emily's excited squeals as she fiddled with the Jacuzzi's knobs.

'I've never seen anything more beautiful!' he yelled back, studying the tired but beautiful features of the woman next to him.

Kate giggled quietly when she realized he wasn't looking at the panoramic scene in front of them; he coughed to cover up his bright blush.

Inclining his head towards his teammates and their embarrassing antics he added, 'I think you just made their year'

The two of them watched in companionably silence as the girls selected a room and directed housekeeping while Derek rifled through the well-stocked kitchen.

'Kate, this is really too much' Reid bent down to whisper in her ear as she pressed her face in his shirt.

As she didn't respond, he took the opportunity to smooth out the unpleasantness from before.

'Um…Kate, I hope you don't think…..I don't really talk to them about my childhood' he confessed a bit tentatively, not sure how she would react to this bit of news.

'They don't know?' she said in some surprise looking up at him. 'But you tell me that you are all so close'

He shrugged helplessly. His troubled past wasn't something you could really bring up in polite conversation.

'Spence, you don't owe me any explanations' she said quietly to his shirt button.

He kissed the top of her short curly hair as he felt her tears dampen the fabric, 'and you DON'T owe me anything'

The young profiler guided her towards the kitchen in the hopes of finding something for her to drink. This always happened. Whenever they met up she always started to cry as if she was somehow responsible for the bad choices he had made so long ago. But she seemed a little more distressed than normal. He hoped she didn't think he was ashamed to be seen with her or anything similarly ludicrous.

Morgan instantly assessed the situation and began pulling out coffee and tea items from their respective cupboards. He turned his back on the couple as he switched on the kettle, giving them some privacy. In the meantime, Reid gave the tiny woman a boost so she could sit on one of the bar stools.

'Sorry' she apologized once again, 'there was some trouble with the casino's computers and we've been working overtime trying to sort it out'

Reid slid effortlessly unto one of the high chairs as Morgan began brewing some coffee behind the breakfast bar.

'Can we help?' the young doctor asked automatically.

'Reid,' Morgan said warningly.

She leaned over and kissed his smooth cheek, 'No, but thank you.'

The dark profiler watched as the two began to assemble their drinks and he raised an eyebrow. He didn't know that Reid drank Lipton, but then smiled when the pair exchanged cups. Derek was going to get the whole story out of his young teammate at a later date as it was obvious that the two were close.

'How long are you staying?' she asked between sips.

'We leave on Sunday night, can you take some time off and spend it with us?' he begged her.

The two profilers watched as Kate mentally rearranged her schedule in her head. Regretfully she shook her head, 'I don't think I can'

Of course the genius agent was the picture of misery but he bit his lip and nodded his head.

'Can I come sleep with you?' she asked hesitantly.

Morgan choked on his coffee.

'You NEVER have to ask' the young man replied firmly as he helped her off the tall bar stool.

After taking her leave of her new friends, Reid walked her to the door.

'What kind of trouble do you think there is?' he asked, approaching the kitchen to help out with the dishes.

The dark man threw a dishcloth over his shoulder with a lascivious grin, 'I don't know what trouble the casino is in, but right now I am more interested in what trouble you're in, Pretty Boy.'


	11. Do you really want to know?

**Anote: Thanks to all my new reviewers and my new super awesome beta who is correcting my stories. **

Chapter 11- Do you really want to know?

_15 years ago_

Kate didn't even bother knocking and used the emergency key Spencer had given her. This wasn't a 'hello, won't you come in occasion'

The little redhead made a beeline for the kitchen, throwing her school bag on the floor. As she filled a tumbler full of water, she glanced fearfully at the sink full of wares. Since Spencer had taken over the running of the house, there hadn't been as much as a pin out of place. Carefully, she balanced the full glass as she took the stairs two at a time and almost tripped over Mrs. Reid in the dark.

'Hello Kate' the woman greeted her as if meeting people on her staircase was an everyday occurrence.

It took a moment for the teenager to get her heart rate under control.

'Good evening Mrs. Reid' she replied in return. "Can I help you to your room?'

Spencer's mum beamed at her. 'Yes thank you. You are a very thoughtful young woman'

And with that Kate escorted her back to the room and waited while she climbed into bed before switching off the lights.

Unlike his mum Spencer was already in bed, fully dressed and staring at the ceiling. He looked at her with an unsurprised expression as she placed the glass on the sideboard.

'Are you alright?' she asked rhetorically, 'Where were you today?'

She crawled on top of the comforter because the little boy was whispering.

'I was just walking around' he confessed, 'I'm hoping if he just saw me…'

Kate reached out and gripped his knee.

'Spence, my uncle has men looking for Greg.' she whispered back, 'You can't wander the streets; it's too dangerous'

He held out his arms and after hesitating a moment she lay down in his embrace. They shouldn't be doing this. She wasn't a little girl anymore and Spencer was just two months shy of his thirteenth birthday. Her new boyfriend would have a cow if he found out about this. He already didn't like the way Spencer stared at him through those big glasses of his. Kate forgot all those concerns as the boy's thin frame trembled violently.

'It's going to be alright' she chanting softly, holding him tight against her, 'Greg probably got a job somewhere. He'll be back'

Spencer closed his eyes in misery. In the morning he would take his key back from Kate and tell her to stay away. But for now he buried his face in her peach scented hair, trying desperately to block out reality. In his heart he resolved not to see her again not until he was absolutely sure that whatever trouble had visited Greg didn't turn up at his doorstep.

* * *

___Present day_

Morgan knew that Garcia was worried based on the fact that they were both sitting on the luxurious leather couch in their sleepwear and she was yet to make one single provocative comment.

Their hearts sunk collectively when Emily stepped out of the bedroom with a a non-joyous look on her face. The two waited as she sat cross-legged on the coffee table in front of them.

'How is he?' Morgan asked.

Emily nodded her head expansively as she usually did when piecing together a difficult problem.

'Reid's perfectly composed.' she responded. 'He's actually reading a children's story…err…. Percy Jack something or the other.'

'Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief…awesome series- now showing in theaters' Garcia rattled off in a bizarre fashion.

The beautiful brunette's jaw dropped and she turned to Morgan in dismay. 'You gave her caffeine?'

The dark profiler raised his hands in a 'don't look at me' gesture.

'Will you please tell us what Reid said before I hurt you?' the blonde snapped.

'He didn't say much, and we know most of it already. There was trouble in Vegas when he was a boy, and he was asked not to play in the casinos'

'What do you mean, like never ever?' Garcia wanted to know. 'Oh God, he tried to tell us and we just dragged him into the casino'

'Do you think he did something illegal?' Morgan pondered out loud.

'Do you really want to know?' Emily countered just as swiftly.

The two looked at Garcia and the talented computer tech shrank back in fear.

'I already checked and got nothing and we can't use the FBI mainframe, because all the searches are logged' she said hastily.

She for one didn't want to know.

'Great, now what?' Derek asked dispiritedly.

Emily perked up as she just remembered something. 'Oh and Kate is Goldstein's niece'

'Really?' the other woma exclaimed. 'Then she may knows something'

The two women looked at the silent man between them, who now wore a stunned expression on his face.

'Derek?'

They gave him a moment to let his thought processes run its course.

'She's coming here tonight' he said unexpectedly.

'Why?'

Derek looked at the front door as if already picturing her standing there.

'She knows something alright,' he said stonily. 'She's part of this whole mess.'


	12. A quiet night

**Anote: This chapter is for **_**boolinger.**_** I hope to hear of your spectacular math scores next time you write.**

Chapter 12- A quiet night

_Present day_

Kate searched her pockets for her master key-card as she leaned her overnight bag against the wall. However, just as she held on to the latch, the door swung open to reveal Spencer's good looking black friend in the doorway.

'Hi,' he greeted her, leaning against the door-frame in an unmistakeable gesture of hostility.

Had something happened? This was NOT the same friendly and engaging man she had met earlier.

'What's wrong?' she asked quickly. 'Is Spencer okay?'

'That remains to be seen' he replied cryptically, reaching out for her bag and wheeling it inside.

In some confusion Kate stepped through the doorway into the deserted and dark living room. She was exhausted to the bone and she hoped whatever had gotten the man's panty hose in a twist could be sorted out easily.

In a quick motion he closed the door behind her, effectively trapping her in the small space with his much larger body. Of course she was startled but quickly regained her composure, slipping effortlessly behind her professional mask. He wouldn't know, but such strong armed tactics were wasted on her. One couldn't begin to comprehend how many men confused the job title of casino hostess with complimentary prostitute. However Derek's actions didn't compute from all Spence had told her.

'Can I help you with something?' she asked him in a flat tone of voice.

The man tucked his arms under his armpits as he towered over her.

'I know you don't know me, and I have no right to interrogate you in this fashion' he began in a similar voice but stopped suddenly, his shoulders slumping in despair.

'You can ask' she offered compassionately sensing his distress, 'for Spencer's sake, I will try to answer you'

'Fair enough'

She waited as he collected his thoughts.

'Reid's not been himself ever since we got here' he remarked, 'is there anything you can tell us?'

He had asked the ONE thing she didn't want to talk about.

'Have you talked to him?' she inquired watching as he rubbed his bald head in obvious frustration.

'Can you at least tell me if he's in any danger?' he asked instead.

Kate raised her hand to push against the flat of his stomach, realizing now that she had misread the situation. As she expected he stepped back to give her some room.

'And if he is?'

She heard the quick intake of his breath as his pupils dilated rapidly.

'We will move him out of Las Vegas tonight' he fired off quickly in response, eyeing her worriedly.

She looked over his shoulder before commenting.

'There's no need for that.' she stated calmly grasping the handle of her suitcase. 'If there is any danger, I will protect him. Isn't that right Spencer?'

Morgan closed his eyes in horror before slowly turning around.

'That's correct,' Reid replied.

Kate quickly walked into the young doctor's room and closed the door behind her.

There were many times in the field that Morgan forgot that the genius profiler was close to thirty years old. To his credit, the young agent accepted the team's protective nature with grace on most occasions but Derek could sense that this was not to be one of those times.

'I thought we had deal' the boy hissed at him as he approached, already dressed for bed in his cream pajamas.

Morgan tentatively reached out to place his hand on his friend's shoulders and was extremely grateful that the man didn't pull away.

'Reid, I'm sorry,' he said sincerely, 'but if something happens to you while I am sunning by the pool, I'll never be able to live with myself''

'Morgan' he whined huffily, 'nothing's going to happen. Would you quit worrying?'

The dark profiler turned away in frustration. 'You're giving me nothing here, kid'

The young doctor knew that his colleagues were angry, hurt and concerned. He could turn a blind eye to all that, but he couldn't ignore the fact that they were scared.

'Alright' he reluctantly conceded, 'I'll tell you SOME of it, but tomorrow, okay?'

They duo exchanged satisfied glances and Reid turned in the direction of their room.

'Wait, hold up' the older man called after him.

'Morgan, tomorrow!!!' the boy said in exasperation, 'Kate's waiting for me'

'I like her,' Derek admitted staring at the closed door, 'she has spunk. So…. do you have protection?'

'Huh?'

And to Reid's everlasting horror his teammate stuffed a pack of condoms in his hand.

'God Morgan!' he yelped attempting to return the items while turning around to check the door.

It would be just his luck that Kate would stick her head outside at this distressing moment.

'Reid, our lives are complicated enough without bringing a baby into the situation' the older man counseled.

As much as the doctor tried, Morgan refused to accept the condoms.

'It's not like that,' Reid protested as he hid the tiny package between the side of his leg and palm, 'Besides aren't you sleeping with us?'

Derek jerked his thumb towards the comfortable couch, 'Nah…I want to enjoy these windows'

With a little push he propelled his young friend back to the room, 'Good night, hot stuff.'

Reid peeped inside with a tentative look and darted across the bedroom to hide the condoms in a pair of socks which he buried deep in the bottom of his bag. Next he jumped into bed and pulled his book towards him, hoping that Kate would take a few minutes in the bathroom so he could get rid of his tomato red face. He couldn't believe that Morgan would think something like that!

'Everything alright?' she asked hesitantly as he lifted the covers for her.

She still used peach scented shampoo.

'He's always like that' he said in a 'can you believe it' sort of voice.

With a contended sigh she settled on his chest and wrapped her arms around his thin torso, 'I'm glad you've found friends that you can depend on'

'And what's that suppose to mean?' he glowered down at the unruly curls under his nose.

Kate leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, and within a matter of seconds she was fast asleep.


	13. Against his will

**A note: Just to clarify. Fifteen years ago Kate's uncle, Robert (Bobby) Goldstein was the head of security and he would report to whoever was the President of Operations. In the Present day, he is the President of Operations and he has a security chief, named Stephen**.

Chapter 13- Against his will

_15 yrs ago_

'So how old is he?' Robert asked his number one, as he looked at the odd looking sketch of a skinny boy in glasses.

Weird, he looked oddly familiar somehow. He really needed to get a decent night of sleep before he started hallucinating.

It was the fifth night in a row that the security staff at the Venetian were having another late night strategy session. All his men looked as tired and haggard as he felt.

'Reports range from nine to sixteen' the man answered him reading some of his notes; 'it's how he dresses and talks that confuses the witnesses'

'What sort of name is 'The Magician?''

The man opposite gave a short humorless laugh. 'Trust me, it's the most decent name that is being bandied about. He likes to do magic tricks between plays'

Robert Goldstein didn't return the laugh. The Las Vegas strip was in the grip of some nameless adolescent and the president of the casino was breathing down his neck. Every couple of weeks the residents would awake to some rumor of a back room poker game that had culminated in the exchange of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single night. A frenzy seemed to have gripped the city as the boy's legend grew to mythic proportions. It was only a matter of time before some of his moves started being copied in the casinos on the strip. This thought had sent the casino bosses scrambling. They had to find him. If someone found a way to copy The Magician's unbeatable strategy, they could easily bring the industry to its knees.

To this end, each casino started to send out plants to all the major games, but the target group adapted quickly to this maneuver. Now the boy played in random locations and the games were by invitation only. However, The Venetian had the inside track and had managed to snag one of the past players. By exchanging an unpaid marker for information, the security team at this casino had exclusive access to previously unknown information. And for the first time in a long awhile it had been good news.

'And he lost?'

Another man at the table fielded this question.

'He folded, sir'

His second in command picked up the narrative. 'According to our source, the boy became confused and disoriented in the middle of the game'

'Was he sick?' another man queried from his spot near the water cooler.

'No, but he had some argument with his team. What our man was able to tell us is that the boy thought someone was cheating at the table'

Goldstein frowned at this news. He would have been happier if the boy had lost.

'There's fighting in the group.' another man spoke up, 'we can use that'

There was a murmur of agreement as the security force made note of this fact on the notepads before them.

The man opposite noticed the dark look on the head of security's face.

'Sir?'

The older man glanced at the solemn faces around the table.

'You realize that the boy didn't lose. The fact that he was able to detect a cheater shows an amazing degree of skill. Was there any basis for his suspicions?'

His second scoured his notes.

'Yes,' he said hesitantly still trying to find the relevant information. 'They couldn't identify the cheater, but when they eventually checked the deck, there were two King of Diamonds in the pack'

The man's heart sank. The game was fixed by just one card, and the boy was able to discover it. They HAD to find him!

'So what then?' he asked quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose to clear his head.

His right hand man closed his folder with a snap, no longer needing his notes to retell this part of the story.

'Our source says that his gang turned on him and one of them even slapped him when he tried to explain. I suppose it was a reasonable reaction because when he folded, The Magician walked away from twenty thousand dollars'

A whisper of incredulity swept the room at the thought of so much money being played in one hand of cards.

'There's nothing reasonable about striking a child. Impressions?' Goldstein barked over the noise, looking around at his trusted men.

The man who had asked if the boy was sick stepped forward.

'The group is highly organized, but they don't seem to be all on the same page. Are we sure this boy is here of his own free will?'

'Excuse me, Mr. Goldstein? There's a young man here to see you.' a waitress timidly interrupted, poking her head through the door.

'What? Who?' he asked distractedly as he automatically checked his watch as if the time device could give him the identity of the visitor.

'He says he's one of Miss Kate's friends,' she supplied unsurely.

The man waved one hand at the meeting. 'Can you just take a message honey? I'm kinda busy right now.'

Unexpectedly the waitress straighten and lifted her head defiantly, 'I'm going to put him in your office, sir, to wait. He's crying something awful; I think someone hit him'

No one was surprised when the boss shot to his feet with enough force to leave the chair behind him spinning.

'Where?' he growled.

The casino employee pointed at the little boy who was standing forlornly in the busy surveillance room clutching a painting to his chest.

'Oh my god!' one of his men shouted, 'It's him, it's The Magician!!!'

* * *

_Present day_

'Sir? Sir?'

A much older Robert Goldstein raised his head to look at his head of security.

'Are you alright sir?' Stephen asked in concern, quickly observing the way his boss clenched his fists as if struggling to compose himself.

The security chief peeped curiously at the beautiful 15th Century artwork on the man's desk, which he knew usually hung in the foyer.

Robert, noticing what his friend was looking at, turned the painting over.

'Yes, I'm fine,' he answered quickly, 'Is the computer glitch back?'

The man accepted the change in topic with reluctance, 'All quiet on that front, but something's happening in the dining room with our friend Dr. Reid'

What the.....?

He had just seen the entire group having breakfast in the restaurant when he stopped to get a good morning kiss from Kate.

His employee wisely flattened his body against the door as his superior barreled past him.

'Put the doctor on the big screen,' he yelled at his surveillance team.

Instantly a picture of the young man appeared on the huge floor to ceiling wall monitor. The FBI agent was arguing with an older man, waving his thin arms wildly to make his point. His friends were no where in sight.

'Who is this guy?' the casino chief shouted to the room in general.

'He's not a hotel guest' someone hollered back.

All the blood drained from Robert's face as the stranger threw an arm around the boy's shoulder and started dragging him away.


	14. Under my protection

**ANote: Thank you **_**dianebgifford**_** for your in depth review of my last chapter. I agree with you that this story has hints of the unbelievable about it. I welcome any suggestions you or any other readers have to tighten up these weak areas. However in the interests of having an entertaining and fun story, we will press on with our narrative as it is. However, I am glad to know that you still find it an enjoyable read.**

Chapter 14-Under my protection

_15 years ago_

The boy had heart if nothing else, Goldstein decided, as the young man still managed to stay on his feet as his back hit the wall.

'LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!' he screamed in agony as the guards surrounded him.

The security chief slowly dropped to his knees and held one hand out, waving to his men to stand back. The look in the teenager's eyes told him that the little boy was beyond fear and it was most likely he didn't even know what was happening or what he was doing.

'Okay, everybody just calm down,' he said softly, taking command of the situation with the skill that would earn him the coveted position of President of Operations in the years to come.

Spencer's eyes darted around the room wildly, looking for a way out.

'Hello,' he said is a shaky voice, 'I need…I need…I need…'

'It's okay son' Robert said softly, cutting the boy off before he descended into hysterics. 'I know what you need. Come to me and I'll take care of you'

Spencer shook his head in confusion, staring warily at the man in front of him with outstretched arms.

'Come, Spence,' the man with the nice smile said, beckoning with his fingers, 'it's me Uncle Bobby, remember?'

All was quiet in the meeting room as everyone stared mesmerized at the battle of wills being played out before them.

The boy took one step forward and suddenly broke into a run, barreling himself into the man's embrace. In one swift motion, the older man stood as Kate's friend wrapped himself around his torso like a fast growing vine.

'I got ya,' he reassured the trembling child as the boy took great gasps of air.

Swiftly the two walked towards a less populated area where the employee bathrooms were located. Robert turned to his second in command who, as expected, was one step behind him.

'Head down to the kitchens and get a plate of err...chicken fingers, steamed not fried. I don't think he can handle the grease right now, and get some of that Rehydrate or whatever you call it solution out of the first aid kit. GO!'

Gently the security chief placed the boy on his feet in front of one of the sinks.

'So, let's get some hot water going,' he crooned gently, trying to further calm the boy. 'And wash those hands'

Thankfully the young man had stopped shaking, but was still breathing hard. He balanced the framed picture on a convenient ledge and moved forward to grab the soap as his new protector got some fresh towels.

'That's great!' the man praised him as the boy took off his glasses to wash his face. 'You're doing just fine'

Robert ground in his teeth in anger as he took in the sight of swollen cheeks. Someone was going to pay for that!

'Wow, I think we need to get you some ice for that face or you are going to look like a clown in the morning' he joked a little, patting the bony shoulders.

Spencer slipped on his glasses and turned to face Kate's uncle, 'Thank you Mr. Goldstein. I am extremely appreciative of your efforts, but I came here to discuss a business matter with you. Is Kate here yet?'

He would never get use to the way the little boy talked, but first things first.

'My little girl's coming here, now?' he asked offhandedly, stripping off his jacket to wrap around the boy's skeletal frame.

He looked down at the tousled long hair as the boy bent his head to fasten the buttons, 'Yes. I just talked to her about ten minutes ago'

Spencer took one step forward and promptly keeled over.

'Whoa,' Robert said, reflexively scooping the young man up in his arms again. 'You better let me carry you. When is the last time you got some sleep?'

The two walked towards his private office as the older man sifted through ideas, prioritizing what needed to be done.

'Okay,' he began, gently depositing the boy in a cozy armchair. 'I have to check on something and then we'll talk'

The security chief looked around his office vaguely for something to amuse his young charge and ruffled the brown hair in amusement as Spencer drew a copy of today's newspaper towards him. Robert gently closed the door behind him, and almost collided with the pert waitress carrying the tray of chicken fingers.

'Keep him company, will you?' he asked nodding to the door.

As he watched the waitress step inside, Goldstein hooked an arm around one of his passing men and drew him close enough to whisper in his ear.

'Get down to the parking lot and wait for my niece. I don't care what you do, I don't care if you have to cuff her to a post but keep her AWAY from the casino'

* * *

_Present_

Stephen didn't know what was happening, but it couldn't be anything good as his usually unflappable superior was completely freaking out. The boss' mood had also infected the entire security detail as they hurried through the casino floor drawing the gaze of concerned patrons.

'Casino business, no need to be concerned,' he said to random people, trying to spread as much calm as he could.

The security team was going with attack plan Zipper. Not that anything was wrong with this maneuver, it was just not something that Mr. Goldstein usually called for. The President usually preferred to corner the assailant as well as help the victim, but in this strategy all the emphasis was being placed on getting the victim to safety. Stephen hung back slightly to get a good view of the whole spectacle. He would never dream of defying orders, but there were enough good men available to get the skinny doctor to safety, so he kept his eyes focused on the stranger hoping to see where the man would eventually run off too.

The security chief's fears were unfounded as his men, disturbed by Goldstein's emotional response to the situation, slammed into the intruder with the force of a two tonne truck. The doctor shrieked as the man went flying and hit the opposite wall with a thud.

'Get him out of here!!!' Robert yelled at his team, pointing to the thin man.

Without even breaking stride, one of the guards snatched the 'victim' off his feet and carted him off to the safe room.

'Don't hurt him!!' Reid screamed uselessly at the casino staff as he was whisked away.

In the meantime, the rest of the men dragged the stunned intruder into a nearby access corridor.

The man groaned and clutched his stomach as his eyes watered in pain. However, Robert wasn't fooled.

'Alright, back up, don't get too close,' he warned his men as the injured man's eyes expertly swept the corridor, searching for weak spots.

Finally the stranger's gaze settled on him, correctly identifying him as the man in charge of the group.

'Why don't you just slide that gun over here and we'll talk. No need for this to get ugly,' he offered.

The man nodded, still not able to speak, and slid his firearm across the floor.

The tension in the air went down a notch at this easy compliance.

Goldstein squatted down to be at eye level with the other man as he scooped up the gun.

'My name is Robert Goldstein, president of operations at the casino' he introduced himself, 'and that boy is under my protection'

The intruder shook his head and spoke for the first time. 'You're wrong'

Robert looked at the hand the man extended distrustfully.

'Dr. Reid is under my protection,' he continued with the air of a man who was used to people agreeing with him.

'Who do you think you are?' Goldstein retorted scornfully.

'My name is Aaron Hotchner'


	15. I feel safe with you

**New episode tonight! Yay Yay yay!**

_**Fioney stecey,**_** thank you for your kind words and prayers.**

Chapter 15 – I Feel Safe with You

_Present day_

Remaining perfectly still as soon as you woke up wasn't something people normally did, but ever since he and his wife had separated it was a skill that Aaron Hotchner had cultivated. At first it was just a way for him to deal with the domestic horror that his life had devolved to, but the profiler quickly saw the other benefits and worked hard to perfect the ability.

He maintained his steady breathing as his other senses kicked into over drive trying to piece together this present reality to the last scene that his brain remembered. He felt the warmth of the sun on his arm, which is what probably woke him. He could also feel the padding of the comfortable couch cocooning his body as he slept. But it was the silence he was hearing that was the most jarring to his mind and like a jig saw puzzle that suddenly came together he realized why it FELT wrong. The last thing he remembered was lying on the couch watching Reid and Kate as they enjoyed the latest Star Trek movie. It was a very loud movie in his opinion.

The senior profiler was impressed with Reid's tiny friend. Kate reminded him of JJ with her calm, unflappable exterior as if she was used to guests walking into her hotel with nothing more than the suit on their backs and an overnight bag. She had taken one look at his 6'2 inches and within the hour he had six changes of clothes and two suits hanging in the third room of the luxury suite that the team was housed in. She had also provided pain killers and a myriad of ice bags in all shapes and sizes for his many injuries and bruises, explaining that her uncle had been a security chief for many years. But above all this he liked the way she treated Reid. Kate looked like high society but she lavished attention on the socially inept profiler as if he was made of solid gold.

Hotch tried to be interested in the movie, but he really spent most of his time looking at the pair.

They were squashed together on one big arm chair as they ate a cold chicken salad from a mammoth bowl while keeping their eyes glued to the large plasma screen infront of them. Hotch smiled along when they laughed out loud, not that he thought the film was amusing, but because there were laughing in tandem. The way the pair finished each other's excited sentences and rolled their eyes in synchrony bespoke of long years of friendship and loving familiarity.

So they were no longer looking at the movie.

That could either mean that they had switched it off or that he had napped longer than was usual for him. The latter was entirely probable. Being telephoned by a prefect stranger and told a cryptic story that one of your friends was in danger and you should collect him, was no way to start off a weekend. Flying commercially wasn't a pleasant experience either. The BAU jet had spoiled him and made him soft.

Hi ears figuratively twitched when underneath the silence in the room there was a soft but consistent scraping noise. SSA Hotchner knew of only one man who read that fast.

'Hello Reid,' he said softly.

The young doctor's book went flying as he jumped in surprised.

'Sir!' he yelped. 'You're awake!'

Hotch opened his eyes and winced at the flood of light coming through the floor to ceiling windows. The room and its view were breath taking and he wished he could lie there all week and soak it in. His sore muscles and bruised flesh were also in full support of the idea.

Reid hovered anxiously as his boss slowly shuffled himself into a half slouched sitting position.

'Do you need more pain tablets?' he asked fretfully, already pouring out a glass of water.

Hotch took a deep breath and instantly wished he hadn't.

'What time is it?'

'A little after two o'clock. Are you hungry, sir?'

He shook his head, the pain meds were making him lightheaded.

'Did someone go to pick up Dave?' he asked instead.

The young man handed over the glass and picked up his book off the floor.

A few sentences from Hotch had been enough to placate Rossi but the man had already passed the check in point so he decided to still fly over and spend the night with them. However JJ had not been so easy to mollify and Hotch had to hand over his mobile to the genius profiler to talk her into a calmer frame of mind. She had reluctantly agreed to stay in Virginia on the condition that Spencer called her every couple of hours. The man had readily agreed. He felt horrible for ruining everyone's weekend and if he ever found out which one of the casinos had hunted Hotch down he would strangle the owner.

'Kate sent a limo for him,' he replied.

Hotch smiled at what his old friend would think of that.

'Where is Kate?'

'She went back to work. Um…Sir?' his upset colleague began hesitantly, 'I think you should reconsider that massage that she organized for you.'

His boss gave him THE LOOK.

'You look awful,' the young doctor added seriously, looking him over with a critical eye, 'At least use the Jacuzzi as the masseuse recommended'

The older man glared at the tub near the windows suspiciously.

'Would you stay with me if the massage person came here?' the older man asked unsurely.

Reid scowled in annoyance at this question.

'I have already promised to stay with someone at all times. Why doesn't anyone believe me? Does my word mean nothing to anyone?'

Hotch had gained his feet and was stripping off his clothes as his colleague engaged in his mini tirade. It sounded like the others had put Reid through the wringer.

The young man hurried to the tub to get the water flowing just in case his taciturn boss changed his mind again.

'You misunderstood me, Reid,' the man remarked, neatly folding his tie over the shirt draped over the couch. 'Having my back exposed to persons unknown is not something I think I can manage'

The boy smiled in puzzled amusement, 'And you can do it if I am around?'

'Yes, I feel safe with you'

Reid stumbled slightly on the raised platform at this extraordinary statement.

'You feel safe with me sir?' he repeated in stupefied amazement.

Hotch reached his hand in and tested the bubbly water, 'Don't you feel safe with me?'

'Of course I feel safe with you!!!' Reid squeaked in response, his voice cracking as it was wont to do when he was stressed.

All Hotch's muscles moaned simultaneously as he stepped carefully into the hot water.

As the older man settled on the bench seat he watched as Reid placed a glass of water, his cell phone and Glock within arm's reach, but not before he jammed a chair under the door knob. The young agent knew him well, but that went both ways.

He waited until the boy had dragged a chair for himself close to the Jacuzzi before reaching over to snag the slender wrist.

Reid looked across at him in anger, but Hotch easily saw through that to the fear beneath.

'Calm down,' the man chastised him gently. 'Look me in the eye and tell me that you are not in any danger'

The boy turned his head away, refusing to answer a question that he had already responded to a hundred times before.

'I know you Reid,' Hotch said insistently. 'If you keep your silence and one of the others gets hurt…'

The silence hung like a guillotine waiting to fall, but the older man refused to finish his sentence until the other looked at him.

'I know you Reid,' he repeated, feeling a tremor start through the wrist that he held. 'If one of us got hurt, your mind would shatter'

The boy tried to run away from the truth of that statement, but he was no match for the other man's strength. All he could do was turn his head away again so that Hotch wouldn't see the agonized emotions across his face. He was grateful that the lead profiler said no more and appeared to be in no rush for a response.

'Take a deep breath, Reid,' the man counseled, squeezing the wrist supportively. The young man heeded his advice for several minutes.

'Sir….Hotch, a FBI agent is always in danger,' he offered as his opening statement. 'But….but the specific danger you are referring to is not highly likely to reoccur as the man responsible is in jail serving a life sentence.'

Their eyes locked. There were only a handful of crimes that merited such a punishment.

Hotch leaned against the head rest as he thought about what Reid had revealed. Had Gideon known all of this?

'How old were you?' he asked compassionately.

Reid reopened his story book.

'Thirteen'

**ANote: Hey guys, I realize some of you HATE cliffhangers so if you want to know what is going to happen next, just drop me a line and I will be happy to give you a brief sentence or two. I am just so grateful that you guys like my mad scribbles.**


	16. You must believe me

**For **_**Shortee McGee**_**, who never fails to leave a few words of encouragement.**

Chapter 16- You must believe me

_15 years ago_

Goldstein was pleased to see that the boy had made some head way with the chicken, but the glass of orange re-hydration solution remained untouched.

Spencer neatly folded the newspaper in half and laid it to one side as he opened his mouth, but stopped in mid-sentence as his protector pointed meaningfully at the drink.

With a small sigh the young man reached out for the glass with one hand and pinched his nose with the other. In five quick swallows he drained the disgusting mixture and gratefully grabbed the paper cup of water Kate's uncle held out to him.

The head of security realized now what his little girl saw in the boy. He may not look like much on the outside but on the inside he had the strength of will to do whatever needed to be done.

'Alright,' the older man began bracingly, 'I am all ears'

'Is Kate coming?' he asked tentatively, looking round at the door.

Just as he was about to blurt out a lie, the boy shook his head. 'Never mind, no explanation needed. She's running late as usual'

The young man reached out to grab the painting that he was carrying, giving it a quick rub with his long sleeve to remove the greasy fingerprints and the worst of the tear stains.

'Oh my god,' the man muttered, immediately reaching over to grab a magnifying glass off his desk.

Reverently he laid the framed illuminated manuscript unto the flat surface of the table and squinted at the calligraphy through the specially designed lens.

Sometimes he wondered if he wasn't an artist in another life or at least a sixteenth century nobleman.

Was this work genuine? Oh tea and crumpets…he could actually see the flecks of gold leaf in the loops of the letter G.

'Provenance?' he snapped.

And like a scrub nurse in surgery, the boy opposite slapped the papers documenting the piece's proof of ownership and sale through the centuries into the outstretched palm.

Feverishly the man scanned the papers and was overcome with a feeling of pure artistic bliss to see the history of the piece unfold before him.

'What do you think its worth?' a squeaky high pitched voice enquired at his elbow.

Goldstein returned to reality with a resounding thump.

'It's worth....whatever you want for it,' he answered cautiously.

The boy was calm and talking. The older man wanted to maintain that situation for as long as possible as Spence began to nervously pick at his striped socks.

'Can I can get fifteen thousand dollars?' he said in a nervous rush.

The painting was worth close to five times that amount and something told him that Kate's little friend knew this. He pretended to be thinking as he rubbed his badly-in-need-of-a-shave-jaw.

'I thought The Magician needed twenty thousand dollars?' he responded off-handedly.

He was sorry that he had to resort to such painful tactics as the blood drained from the boy's face, but he was desperate for answers-especially one where Kate wasn't involved in this whole fiasco.

They both leaned back in their respective chairs, quickly re-examining first impressions and sifting through appropriate strategies.

Goldstein decided to lay down the first card.

'Is Kate involved in this in anyway?'

He could see the boy hesitate, but it would appear that choosing to ask about his niece first had been the right move.

Spencer took a deep breath before shaking his head.

The man could feel himself sinking in the chair in sheer relief.

'No sir. I didn't tell her. I value the fact that my head is attached to the rest of my body,' he commented soberly.

The man opposite nodded his own head in understanding. Just two nights ago she had given him a blistering lecture about his appalling sleeping patterns.

'I told Kate I needed the money to pay a bill,' he added to round off his answer, 'which isn't strictly a lie from a certain point of view'

The man leaned forward and clasped his hands together between his knees, 'Don't worry about the money. I'll give it to you if you give me some answers'

The boy closed his eyes in exhaustion as the first hurdle of the night was overcome in such an unexpectedly easy manner.

'Certainly sir,' he replied politely.

The man pushed a note pad and pen at the boy across the edge of the desk.

'I want you to take your time and outline for me, whatever is this strategy you are using in the game.'

The boy's face fell as he fiddled with the Cross pen.

'Can I talk to Kate?' he asked instead.

Goldstein tapped the page with an insistent finger, 'Details first.'

The boy doodled on the note pad.

'There isn't any strategy, is there?'

Spencer lifted his bowed head in surprise, amazement written all over his young features.

'You are the first person to believe me,' he said in awe. 'I keep telling everyone that I see the probabilities in my head, but I can't get anyone to believe me'

The security chief leaned back again, stacking his hands on his head as he looked at the surprising source of all the trouble.

As the silence stretched out the boy began to fidget again.

'You do believe me, right?' he asked in a small pathetic voice.

Yeah, he believed him.

Little schools like Yale, Cal Tech and MIT didn't have a bidding war going on for just any ordinary teenager.

He just hoped he could convince his casino boss now.


	17. How could this night get any worse?

Chapter 17- How could this night get any worse?

_15 years ago_

He peeked inside his office and was pleased that Kate had finally managed to fall asleep. Her skinny friend kept watch over her from his chair, enjoying the silence and her company.

Gently Goldstein closed the door, wishing that out here things could be moving so peacefully.

His supervisor was on the phone trying to reassure the other casino bosses that they had control of the situation. But Robert could tell from the grimace on the man's face that this wasn't going so well. In the meantime they had increased security around the floor in an attempt to prevent any over enthusiastic head hunters from taking the boy.

There was certainly never a dull moment on the strip.

The security head straighten to his full height as his superior beckoned to him.

'Robert,' the man said with a heavy sigh, and the anxious uncle could feel the ends of his fingers turning numb with fear.

'They didn't believe you?'

His friend shook his head in reply.

'They want to talk to Mr. Reid for themselves,' the man said quietly, reaching out to grasp the man's shoulder.

'No,' the head of security hissed shrugging off the hand irritably. 'He's JUST a boy!'

The man looked at him compassionately, but he could tell that he was not moved by his words.

'You have bigger problems, Robert,' he advised his number one quietly as the man had turned away to return to his young charges.

Really? What now? How could this night get any worse?

'The police just called. You remember Greg what's his name- the guy you were looking for?'

The favor for Kate! He had almost forgotten that with all the drama with The Magician.

'They found him?'

The man shook his head once again, regret stamped all over his face, 'In a manner of speaking. They just discovered a body in the desert matching that description, and they want you to come out to the morgue to identify'

A sharp intake of breath caught the attention of the men and simultaneously they turned to see Spencer standing in the door way with his dirty plate and cup in his hands.

* * *

_Present_

Garcia looked at the two men in front of her in awe. They both looked so handsome, but she supposed this was to be expected as Morgan had dressed them himself. Reid wore a charcoal gray shirt and Hotch was dressed in chocolate brown. Glancing around the dance floor, the tech genius could tell that she wasn't the only girl to think they looked yummy as several females eyed the two men eagerly.

Naturally Hotch and Reid edged closer to each other for protection. Was this how the early Christians felt when they were thrown to the lions? The lead agent blinked around as the loud music emanating from the club's speakers was affecting his ability to think properly.

'WHAT THE HELL IS THIS NOISE?' the older man yelled to his younger counterpart.

Reid leaned in closer so that he wouldn't have to shout.

'Good Vibrations! Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch! Charted out at number one in 1991!' he replied helpfully as his boss scowled irritably at the people dancing on the floor.

And just what was Garcia WEARING?!

Hotch thought he had seem it all, but this tied dyed creation looked like she kicked several paint cans over a purple bit of cloth. For the thousandth time that night he wondered why he hadn't gone to the theatre with Dave.

The vibrant young woman waved at the two distraught men so she could start her dance lesson.

'Okay, it's easy!' she yelled, 'You either dance to the words or the beat of the drums'

The men watched as she demonstrated both options before glancing furtively at each other. She was waving her arms around as if she was on fire. However this seemed to be the thing to do tonight as several other dancers crowded around her eagerly. Morgan appeared from no where and gently elbowed the club goers out of his way. Next, he reached out and scooped Emily from her male admirers and the three teammates came together in the middle of the floor to the loud raucous applause of an appreciative audience.

Reid's jaw slowly dropped open. He couldn't be sure, but he was pretty certain that whatever his three colleagues were doing to each other was illegal in some countries.

A soon as Garcia had stepped back on the dance floor, the senior profiler had begun to take baby steps towards the exit, and before he had shuffled more than a few meters he was rescued by Mr. Goldstein himself. The duo had ducked into a convenient employee's only exit and five minutes later he was safely ensconced in a comfy leather chair with a glass of rich brandy in one hand. Both men stared at the scene on the dance floor from the huge floor to wall scene monitor in the President of Operation's private office. Of course the volume was set to low.

Hotch smiled faintly as he looked at Reid gently swaying out of time near a convenient post as he looked at his friends make a spectacle of themselves on the dance floor. The genius profiler was however all smiles as Kate had joined him, and they stood side by side, sipping their coke, letting the loud energy of the club wash over them. She stood slightly in front of him though, and her hot glare was enough to send any interested women scurrying in the opposite direction.

Goldstein glanced at the serious man at his side. He could tell getting any information out of this man would be next to impossible.

'So,' he said amiably as he refilled the man's glass, 'the FBI? Spencer likes it there?'

Hotch swirled the dark liquid and studied the sparking lights reflected in the drink. He could tell getting any information out of this man would be next to impossible.

'I believe he does,' the agent said hesitantly. 'He's VERY good at what he does'

The man seemed a little sad at this response, and Hotch filed away the look for examination later.

'Oh…and is he married, has a girlfriend?' the man asked next, hoping that the man would continue talking.

Normally Hotch would shift into full 'clam' mode at this point. One didn't go around revealing personal information about a work colleague and as Spencer summarized it earlier, 'an FBI agent was always in danger'. However the profiler wanted information too.

'Not to my knowledge, but perhaps I am looking at the reason for that,' he answered slyly, pointing to the red head on the screen.

The two men watched in silence as the attractive pair looked into each other's eyes. While they were certainly very happy to be together, they weren't 'all over each other' as most young people tended to be these days.

Robert rested his glass on a sideboard.

'She came to me once and told me she was going to ask Spencer to be her boyfriend.'

The agent made a conversational grunting noise.

'I think it lasted for a day and half before they called it quits'

The man leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees as he stared morosely at the screen.

It was good to see the two of them together as it brought back so many memories- both good and bad. The good being that Spencer had risen above all that had happened to him and educated himself to the point where he was now helping hundreds of people who had perhaps fallen prey to a collection of awful circumstances in life, just like he had. The bad being that what the boy suffered at the hands of those who should have protected him had been hushed up. Sure, some heads had rolled and some people had been shuffled through departments but it was almost like nothing had happened.

As these bleak memories rolled around in his head he looked up to see the older agent staring at him. The man's eyes were dark and dead. Goldstein could suddenly feel his heart rate sped up until the muscle was beating like a stampeding racehorse in his chest. The devil had certainly taken a long time to collect his dues.

'I had no choice,' Goldstein whispered desperately.

He stared impassively as the other man rose to his full imposing height.


	18. Watch over the children

**A note: Increasing the rating to M in this chapter for implied violence against a minor.**

Chapter 18- Watch over the children

_15 years ago_

Kate was lying on the couch in her uncle's office and staring at the ceiling. In the meantime her uncle was on the opposite side of the room sitting near the telephone. The silence filled the room between them. There really wasn't anything TO say. The casino bosses had come for the little boy and now he was gone. It sounded clean, quiet and clinical when he thought about it in those terms, but the actual moment had been nothing like that.

Not even on the day he died would he forget the screams as the little boy's mind fell apart, this last blow being too much for him to handle. A doctor eventually had to the sedate the young man as he fought hysterically to escape his reality.

Robert kept telling himself that he had no choice. The casino bosses had wanted his little girl too. In their mind, how could The Magician's best friend not be involved? He did what he had to do to protect her. He made a deal and sold his soul to the devil.

Just then the phone rang and he jumped in surprise. He snatched the receiver from off the hook and pressed the device to his ear. Warily he watched as Kate continued to stare unnaturally at the ceiling.

'Tell me good news,' the security chief hissed into the mouth piece.

He listened to the grim details of the interview and the request that followed.

'Over my dead body,' he remarked quietly, squeezing the life out of the plastic handset.

He absorbed his informer's rebuttal and then hung up the phone without saying a word. Robert glanced across at his niece to find her blue eyes staring at him. His little girl didn't need all this tragedy in her life. With a heavy heart he heaved himself off the chair and walked to her side of the room.

'Kate, they want us to come in and speak to Spencer,' he said as calmly as he could, 'he's not talking at all now'

The young woman stood up immediately; it was déjà vu as the older man reached out to prevent another young person in his care from falling over.

'Hurry Bobby' she yelped, batting away his hands as she grabbed coats and a small bottle of Lucozade from the cabinet.

He was extremely happy that she was talking to him now, but still he snagged her by the waist and hoisted her up in his arms. Normally she would never permit him to do this, but tonight was anything BUT normal.

'Kate, this will be dangerous,' he warned her. 'I don't think we should risk this. Can you really get him to talk? Tell me now.'

She nodded her head positively. 'What do they want to know? Maybe I already know the answer'

'They want the name of the person in charge of the poker games. Kate this is serious now. There's been a murder; your friend Greg is dead, and the more Spencer holds out on them the more suspicious it all seems. They are inches away from calling the police,' her uncle summarized neatly.

'I don't have a name' she said staring at the wall in deep concentration, 'but I think I know why he's not talking.'

She turned her face towards his with an unhappy look, 'He thinks he's protecting his mother.'

The man frowned heavily. 'His mother is involved in this?'

'NO! It's complicated; I'll explain later,' she chattered anxiously, eager to get going.

The man accepted this for now, but sincerely hoped this was not another new complication. The two stepped out of the office and halted at the scene in front their eyes.

The room was filled with every member of the casino's security team all dressed in enough gear to qualify as a small army.

His old friend Doug, trusted body guard and baby sitter, ambled forward. The man's huge frame was made even larger by the bullet proof vest that strained to contain his barrel like chest. The fearsome tattoos, which he usually kept covered, were now also fully exposed. Everyone eyed the man cautiously, everyone but Kate of course who promptly ran to her friend and swarmed up into his arms like a monkey.

'Are you going somewhere, boss?' one of the men called out nonchalantly.

Robert looked around at the serious and determined faces around him.

'Err….yes. Just a turn around the block. Why don't you guys wait here?'

'Nah…we'll go with you sir' another man at the back replied this time, 'We need some fresh air anyway.'

There was a mumble of pleased agreement with that suggestion.

The security chief placed his hands on his hips as he surveyed the men surrounding him.

'Listen, you guys follow me without the approval by the Head and you risk getting fired. Do you understand that?'

No one moved so much as an eyelash as that comment barley registered on their list of things important. One of their own, a Las Vegas native, was in trouble. Besides, the boy with the big glasses was a friend of Ms. Kate.

Goldstein let out a noisy sigh as he glanced across at his niece for guidance. She nodded her head slightly. She was turning sixteen this year and her uncle had already started planning a party for her with a huge pink castle cake as the center piece. But as the man looked at the steel in her eyes, he wondered if that was the right approach at all.

'Fine! Fine!' he barked out reaching for the weapon that one of the men held out to him, 'but for God's sake, keep your guns holstered, there are children involved'

* * *

_Present_

Hotch awkwardly reached out for an extra blanket with his right hand and shook out the fabric. However, the whisper of the cloth folds was enough to jerk Morgan to semi-awareness and the dark profiler lurched forward to grab his gun off the night stand.

Hotch didn't try to shout a warning or approach the still struggling to wake up agent. Instead he stepped smartly to his left to stand in a bar of moonlight that was coming through the bedroom's windows. Even though Morgan was still pointing the gun at him the lead agent could see recognition slowly cross the man's face. As was expected the man slumped on to the pillows and within a few seconds was asleep.

The older man stood still for a few moments as he listened to the calm breathing of the people in the room and he let the sound fill his entire being as he waited to see if Morgan would wake up again. However, the man was as dead to the world as only a person who had danced for most of the night could be. Hotch quietly glided forward to the next bed to stare at the face of the youngest agent under his care. Just seeing the smooth face unmarked by any pain or bruises was a balm to his troubled soul. However, Kate had stolen most of the coverlet and the older man could see the shiver pass through the boy's frame. Without even thinking he unwrapped the blanket from his shoulders and draped it over the genius profiler, tucking the edges in around the previously exposed toes. As if benediction, Hotch placed his bruised and slightly bloody left hand on Reid's soft hair before lowering himself in the chair opposite.

It was too late to go to bed as it was almost morning, but besides that, Hotch knew he wasn't going to sleep again, not until they had gotten Spencer out of this god forsaken city.


	19. Till the wheels fall off

_Present day_

Chapter 19- Till the wheels fall off

Morgan flipped over an omelet with mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions and then neatly slid the hot mixture into Garcia's plate. He then garnished with a few slices of tomatoes and swiped a piece of parmesan cheese over a grater above the steaming eggs before stepping back to admire his handiwork.

Normally, the vivacious blonde would have made some suggestive sally but instead she picked up her fork and mindless started shoveling the food into her mouth. Derek couldn't blame her as the tension in the room was making his stomach cringe too. All the ladies were already supposed to be in the spa, hairdressers etc to get ready for the big concert later that night but they had postponed their appointments to enjoy a late morning brunch with their colleagues. Not that they couldn't get food at these venues but the women were reluctant to leave due to Hotch's mysterious new injuries. The six of them were grouped around the breakfast bar all trying to ignore the elephant in the room as Emily bandaged and treated the split knuckles on the moody profiler's preferred left hand. His injury was too characteristic to be anything else so no one insulted anyone by pretending any different.

'Eggs Hotch?'

The man shook his head as the antiseptic cream lanced though his body like a fiery whip.

'Morgan, make him some dry toast' Dave advised observing the sheen of sweat on his old friend's face.

The coffee pot switched off with a sharp click and Reid did the honors using his award winning memory to flawlessly assemble the coffee preferences of the entire team.

Just then a soft hiss at the door caught their attention and Kate walked in. Without conscious thought everyone automatically rose and shuffled down one seat so that the chair next to Reid's bar stool opened up.

'Kate, what's wrong?' the young agent asked in dismay, putting the kettle down.

Had the world gone mad overnight? Everyone had fallen into bed exhausted and happy but this morning it was like the sky and earth had exchanged places.

'The computer problem is back' she said fretfully one hand pressed to her forehead. Hotch handed her his orange juice and she drained it gratefully.

'Thanks' she said mechanically, placing the used tumbler on the granite table top, 'What…what happened to your hand?'

The man looked at the hand as if now noticing the injuries for the first time.

'This…oh ….there was this wall. I didn't even notice it until the last second'

She had just opened her mouth to say something else when a voice cut across her.

'KATE!' her uncle bellowed from the corridor.

Reid looked towards the doorway, wondering why the man was still outside.

'Sweetheart, Uncle Bobby doesn't want me to stay with you anymore,' she replied, eying Hotch in sudden understanding.

A gasp went through the room and every eyeball swiveled in Hotch's direction.

The youngest agent ran to the door and swung it open. He stared in open mouthed surprise at Robert's spectacular looking black eye.

'Hi', the President of Operations said conversationally.

Reid blinked stupidly as his superior gently nudged him back inside. He then joined the other man in the corridor closing the door quietly in the boy's face.

'Hey!' the young doctor yelled, reaching out for the door knob just as Kate hooked a strong arm around his waist tugging him back to the kitchen.

'It's not our problem,' she said over his protests, 'and I am not going anywhere'

Reid smiled shyly at this mark of favor being showed to him by the remarkable woman at his side, briefly forgetting his concern over the fact that he was probably the reason why two of the most important men in his life were trading fist cuffs.

'It's you and me…' she began and paused expectantly.

He laughed quietly as he remembered the familiar phrase that they would scribble on little pieces of paper and leave each other in unexpected places.

'…till the wheels fall off' he completed.

A smile went round the room and the young woman rose several notches in the team's collective opinion.

'So what's this computer problem?' Garcia asked curiously as she helped the tiny casino hostess to hop up onto her seat.

'We're not entirely sure' she remarked smiling in pleasure as the dark man placed some French toast in front of her.

Had Reid been talking about her to his friends?

'Small amounts of money would go missing and then reappear within a few minutes' she added.

The team looked over Kate's red curls at the talented computer technician's stunned expression.

'Um, Kate?' the blonde said worriedly, 'I think you better…'

She broke off as the two alpha males re-entered the room side by side, quietly talking to each other.

'Sir!' Garcia yelped, 'I need to look at the casino's computer mainframe, RIGHT NOW!!!'

Hotch had seen that look of dread on his agent's face before and it NEVER had a happy ending.

'What? Why?' Goldstein asked in confusion.

'Those little glitches are test runs. Someone is hacking into your network,' she blurted out in an almost incomprehensible rush.

The panicked woman dashed out into the corridor and searched the walls as if a sign would magically appear to lead her to the surveillance area. Everyone in the suite piled out after her.

Robert glanced at the lead agent's anxious expression. They would never be best pals but the look on Hotch's face told him to take this warning seriously.

'This way.'


	20. A long time to wait for revenge

**A note: Increasing the rating to M in this chapter for implied violence against a minor.**

**So, okay what I know about computer hacking can fit in a teaspoon, so this is all make believe. Please no one write me to ask why I did that with the computers.**

**I also just want to let everyone know that I will be wrapping up this story on Sunday. I can't maintain a continuous piece like this when I have school. When holidays come again, I will do something new. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing and thank you for taking this glorious journey with me. I had a great time.**

Chapter 20- A long time to wait for revenge

The Venetian's head of security looked over the shoulder of their Chief Technologist as they both stared at the funny squiggles on the computer screen.

Well they looked like funny squiggles to him, but he knew it made perfect sense to the computer programmer who was seated on the chair.

'Report!' a familiar voice called out from the door way.

'The coffee shop is missing ten dollars and forty nine cents' he answered; straighten up to address The President to his face.

Stephen blinked in surprise as Robert entered the room with Dr. Reid and all his friends.

The short blonde stepped forward to address him, 'And is the money appearing in other unrelated parts of the casino'

How could she know that? The security chief looked over at his boss and the man shook his head letting him know silently that he didn't tell her.

'It's called monitoring fatigue. Send up enough false alarms and your personnel starts to get complacent and then they strike, and you think it's another computer glitch. Although I am glad to see that you and staff are taking this seriously'

'Well this is Vegas; we're all about the money' the head of security commented testily as he frowned at the woman.

The computer tech gave him a wary look sensing his hostility, 'I think I should take a look Mr. Goldstein and see if I can find out who this person or persons are'

She moved automatically to the nearest terminal and almost lost her footing as the tall security chief moved to the side to block her path.

'Hey!' Morgan bellowed and Dave and Emily held on to the dark profiler's arms before he could rush the other man.

Reid and Hotch took up protective flanking positions at Garcia's side.

'What's your problem?' the young doctor spat out.

'Stephen!' Kate said in a stern and horrified voice, 'These are our guests!'

The casino staff started to mumble among themselves gathering together to one side as the room literally and figuratively split into two.

'Quiet' the President commanded softly, 'Quiet…Quiet now!'

Silence duly ensued.

'Penelope works at the FBI, Stephen. What's the matter with you?'

The head of security nervously shifted from one foot to the next. He was quite accustomed to being the center of attention especially in a crisis but he carried out his duties confidently knowing that he and the President were on the same page but now he wasn't so sure. Stephen took a deep breath. His job was to secure the casino not be best mates with his boss.

'Sir, I did a background check on Dr. Reid and his friends just as a precaution' he admitted as politely and respectfully as he could.

'I didn't authorize that,' Goldstein replied gruffly.

The younger man swallowed nervously, but held his ground.

'Sir, you wouldn't tell me what was wrong or why we were entertaining someone from the black books in the hotel.'

Robert waved his hand in a get to the point gesture.

'She' Stephen replied pointing to the suddenly pale blonde, 'is on some sort of FBI hacker's watch list'

All eyes widened at this bit of information.

'Do NOT point your finger at my agent' Hotch remarked in a deceptively odd calm tone of voice.

The man dropped his arm.

'Sir, umm…ten dollars and forty nine cents just showed up at Laundry services' a hesitant voice interrupted the emotionally charged moment.

Reid stepped forward, 'What Stephen said is true but she is here to help. We all are. I personally recommend her and endorse her credibility'

'Somehow I don't find that reassuring' the security chief snorted disdainfully.

'Quiet' the Casino President mumbled in an absent minded voice.

Stephen's jaw dropped open in surprise, 'Sir you're going to believe them over me! The problem only started the evening they arrived'

'Just what are you implying?' Kate retorted angrily as she stood shoulder to elbow with Spencer.

You don't actually think we have something to do with this!' Reid replied in amazement.

All eyes turned to Goldstein to arbitrate this new argument.

'We're back where it all started Spence' he instead said bizarrely.

'Sir?'

Robert made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

'Don't you recognize this room?'

Reid scanned the office quickly, wondering what on earth this had to do with the situation at hand. The genius shook his head slowly as it came together. They had expanded the room and painted the walls and of course the surveillance hardware had been all updated but it was basically the same room from fifteen years ago.

'You were in trouble and you came here asking for my help,' the man commented miserably. 'You remembered what happened that night?'

'Of course he remembers. He has an eidetic memory!' Hotch snapped.

The boy raised his arm asking for a moment and the agents reluctantly shuffled to stand with their backs against a nearby wall. The team all eyed Hotch curiously but he was wearing his BAU 'stone' face which gave nothing away. Reid watched sadly as Kate and her uncle hugged each other, both trying to receive and give comfort at the same time.

The three of them needed to talk but their personal issues had to wait for another day. The genius profiler stuffed all that he was feeling in a box in his mind and slammed the lid shut.

'Robert, you came after me. You saved my life' he reminded the man gently, trying to get the casino boss back on track and onto what was most important.

The President frowned at Spencer's interpretation of that night.

Kate was the only one who had the presence of mind to turn the little boy over and clear his airway as he choked on his own vomit. All the adults just stood there in paralyzed horror as the young man convulsed under the strain of the interrogation. But they had their name and as Doug scooped up the two young children in his beefy arms, the casino bosses were already planning their next move. Before the next day they would have the man they really wanted back in the same interrogation room. And the day after that, that same man would gratefully crawl into the nearest police station and confess to the murder of one Las Vegas handy man, Greg Alistair.

No one attempted to cross the Casinos of Las Vegas and got away with it.

Reid changed his approach as he got no response from the silent man in front of him.

'Robert, you have to stay focused. Your casino is in danger' he reprimanded the older man, squeezing the man's arm supportively.

Robert closed his eyes struggling to regain his composure. The tables had been turned; it was now he that needed help from the tall FBI agent in front him. He kept telling himself that it was ludicrous to believe that Reid was part of this 'supposed attack' on his casino. Fifteen years was a long time to wait for revenge. But what it really all boiled down to was if he trusted the word of a man whom he had betrayed.

'Fine, Fine' the man said softly beckoning to Garcia to come forward. The woman crossed her arm and scowled back fiercely.

Spencer walked over to her corner and bent his head to whisper in her ear for a few seconds pressing a soft kiss to her temple when he was finished. The staff of the casino watched apprehensively as the colorful blonde flounced across to a terminal and grabbed a chair. Her body language clearly stated for any one who had a half a brain that she was doing this ONLY because of whatever the skinny doctor had said.

However, all her earlier irritation disappeared as her attention became solely focused on the operating system in front of her. Within a few moments she had networked her computer screen to the huge plasma monitor in the room so that everyone could see what she was doing. All eyes inexorably focused on the string of the computer code, even though only a handful of them knew what is meant. Reid leaned over her protectively, with one hand on the table and one hand behind her chair as his eyes absorbed her progress on her computer screen.

The symbols changed with dizzying speed as her fingers walked across the keyboard, exploring and prying gently at the security walls.

'Is that…?' Reid began pointing at the screen.

'Yes, it is my love' she answered him offhandedly.

A few more key strokes and she half turned in the direction of the vacationing team, 'Sir I need to…'

'Permission granted' Hotch replied without hesitation.

The FBI screensaver popped up on the plasma monitor and the atmosphere in the room changed.

Robert and Stephen exchanged anxious looks.

What had started as an annoyance to the Venetian staff had escalated into a Federal matter within a matter of minutes and half a country away the technicians in Quantico were getting a sharp wake up call on a Sunday evening.

Suddenly Garcia removed her hands from the keyboard and studied her screen. Everybody stared at the wall monitor in horror as a cursor moved around the display of its own accord.

What the…?

'Reid, they've detected me,' she yelped and immediately dived back unto the keyboard attempting to wrestle control of the system from the unknown user.

'Ohmigod sir' a young woman at another terminal yelled out, 'the coffee shop just reported a ten thousand reduction in their figures.'

'Sir, hospitality is missing five thousand!'

A wide array of cell phones began to ring shrilly in the surveillance room, alerting the heads of the departments to a fact that they already knew. The computer system controlling the finances of the casino was beginning to unravel.

'Garcia!' Morgan called out in concern striding forward to stand at her other side.

'They're too good!' she whimpered in fear as every attempt she made to navigate the system was blocked.

'Sir, the cashier's cage just lost a hundred thousand dollars' Stephen reported in a clipped voice.

Goldstein clutched his niece closer to his chest as the empire he helped create began to collapse before their eyes.

'SILENCE!' Hotch barked out at these random voices, 'Garcia concentrate. They're good, but you are better.'

If Reid didn't know her better he would say that the woman had paused to pray, but he knew what she was doing. No matter how fast and sophisticated the computer, nothing could compare to the instinct and intuition of the human mind.

She hit the keys with a consistent rhythm now and she resembled a runner who had finally found her stride and was not going to stop until she reached the finishing line.

'You're going down!' she muttered darkly to the her unseen opponent, 'Hotch, call the boys in Virginia and make sure they are tracking this'

Long minutes past and Morgan was on the verge of getting his handkerchief out to wipe her forehead when with a final flourish she hit the enter button. All eyes stared foolishly as the large plasma screen in front them turned blue.

A little blinking dialogue box appeared signaling the system was rebooting. Everyone shifted position or jiggled their leg agitatedly as they waited in silence for the window to reappear.

Finally the cursor reappeared, innocently winking in and out of existence as it had done a million times before.

Hesitantly Garcia placed one finger on the keyboard and she held her breath as she depressed a random character.

The letter 'P' appeared, waiting obediently to start the sentence at the behest of the blonde technician that had ordered it to become visible.

'ELIVS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!!' she cried, leaping out her chair and flinging her arms exuberantly over her head.


	21. Backstory

For Tina

...backstory:

When William Reid abandons his wife and twelve year old son, Spencer Reid's life takes a turn for the worse. In the year that follows, young Reid earns extra cash secretly playing house poker games, which he was introduced to by his handyman Greg. However, his genius with the cards soon attracts the attention of unscrupulous gamblers.

Later Greg disappears, and Spencer is forced into playing for an unknown 'group of bad guys' at various high stake poker games across the city. The large sums of money accumulated by the rogue group finally attract the attention of the Las Vegas casino bosses and an attempt is made to find the mysterious poker player, now known as 'The Magician'. The Venetian, one of the casinos on the strip, makes a break through when 'The Magician' walks in of his own accord trying to sell Kate's uncle, the current head of security, an illuminated manuscript to pay off a gambling debt.

When questioned, Robert is relieved to discover that not only is his niece not mixed up in the group but that Reid's skill at cards is based on his own natural ability, involving no new, never seen before cheating strategy in the gambling community. Unfortunately, Spencer finds out that same night that his friend Greg had been murdered and he refuses to co-operate any further, fearful for his own life and that of his mother's.

As could be expected, this attitude infuriates the Casino bosses and they threaten to 'interrogate' Kate as well to get the information they want. To keep her out of the rapidly deteriorating situation, her uncle strikes a deal and reluctantly gives the boy up instead. Robert however, sends one of his men along to keep an eye on the situation. His man reports that the 'interrogation' is not going well and requests that Kate be allowed to assist. They arrive just in time to save the boy from choking to death and Kate convinces Spencer to divulge the information that the bosses want.

Later that night, the Casinos track down Greg's murderer who is also the master mind behind the high stakes poker game. He is 'interrogated' by the Casinos and of his own free will, walks into a police station and gives himself up the next day.

Reid pulls his life together and goes to Caltech that same year and grows up into the FBI agent we all love today. He however has been black listed from playing in all licensed Casinos on the Las Vegas strip. He still remains in close contact with his childhood friend Kate and her uncle.

**Anote: I will add the new chapter unto this little synopsis tomorrow.**


	22. Let go

**Dear Readers,**

**I wrote this story for my beta '**_**the vampire act'**_** for whom the OC Kate is named but I think I should take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed and sent me private messages giving me support for this story. Special thanks to **_**Shorty McGee**_**, **_**boolinger, CLD, addictedtofic, CMali, Reading your thoughts**_** and to all my awesome friends on the Criminal minds wiki, who are too numerous to mention here.**

**Well without further ado, let us say Goodbye to Vegas.**

Chapter 21- Let go

'You guys packed already?' Robert asked the tall young man infront of him.

Reid smiled and waved a manila file branded with the FBI logo.

'Force of habit, sir'

'Is it a bad one?' he asked nodding to the thick folder that the boy had been reading in the foyer while he had hurried from his office to say goodbye.

'They are all bad' he said simply.

Goldstein noticed the sad look on his face and the older man knew the case file was not the only part of the source of his distress.

The Las Vegas strip slowed down for no one, not even a casino that had just been attacked by some sort of high tech robber during the lunch break. Everyone had grabbed a celebratory beer and snagged a slice of pizza, before it was business as usual half an hour later. As a result, Kate was high up over the city in a private helicopter tour with one of her clients when the call came in for the BAU team to return to duty.

'Thank you for having me in your hotel' he added softly, 'I hope you didn't get in a lot of trouble with the other bosses'

The man snorted in amusement. He knew the casino heads were scared out of their minds that 'The Magician' was still in Las Vegas. Never since, had any one of Spencer's skill graced the poker tables.

'Bunch of pansies' he commented, shaking the elegant long fingered hand the man held out to him, 'Thanks for today. You and your team were incredible'

As the agent turned to leave the President of Operations cleared his throat.

'I think this belongs to you' he remarked gravely.

Reid looked at the flat suitcase that the man balanced on his palms and sighed. He didn't need to open it to know that it contained the illuminated manuscript.

The older man pushed it towards him, 'I believe, that all debts are now paid in full'

The genius profiler snapped open the lid and they both looked down at the painting nestled in the black velvet lining. As it always did, the magnificent artwork still had the power to captivate them both.

'Bobby, I would never have gotten through university without your support and guidance' he replied closing the case and pushing it back towards the giver.

'I helped you because I wanted to' the man rebutted firmly, offering the case once again.

Reid raised a hand of refusal towards the man, 'and I gave you the painting because I wanted to'

They stared at each other, both hoping that one of them would give way. Suddenly the boy's eyes lit up.

'Perhaps it is time that it was returned to the original owner' the young agent suggested in an excited voice.

The President of the Venetian blanched in fear.

'Reid that's not funny. Your mother is the owner' he snapped angrily, placing the case at his feet.

The boy stared down at the briefcase and Robert eagerly picked it up again, sure that the young doctor was having second thoughts.

Spencer slowly reached out and put a contemplative palm on the steel lid.

'We rescue people all the time from situations that you can't begin to imagine…' he said as if he was talking to himself.

The look in the brown eyes pierced his old friend's soul. Part of him wondered what the boy had seen and the other part told him to keep his mouth shut because he really didn't want to know.

'…but then it's up to the victim. Even though we remove them physically many of them can't let go of what was done to them. Their mind keeps them in a prison because they will not let go'

Reid pushed the case firmly towards the other man, 'you and Kate, should go see my mum and give this to her. I promise you, you won't regret doing this'

Robert shook his head. He knew his niece visited the sickly woman on occasion but he himself had never gone. He couldn't face her knowing that he had given her only son up like a sheep to be slaughtered.

'It would mean a great deal to me if you would try' the young man added feelingly.

The older man opened his arms and the two men shared a tight hug. He wasn't sure he could do what Reid was asking but he would try. Spencer was an expert at what he did and besides that, he owed the young man that much.

He clapped the thin back heartily as he looked over Spencer's shoulder at the little group gathered behind him in the hotel's driveway.

The original group was joined by an elegant long haired blonde and she along with her colleagues were pretending to read their files, when in reality they were keeping a close eye on their youngest team mate. The men and women were all different sizes, shapes and ages but the concerned look in their eyes identified them as the cohesive unit that they were. Reid went from having zero brothers and sisters to six. Goldstein was happy for the boy. Spencer deserved something good in his life.

'You take care of yourself okay?' the older man warned him, straightening the boy's tie unnecessarily.

'Tell Kate I will call her as soon the case breaks' he added glancing behind as Hotch called for him.

Just then the Head of security rushed out the casino at a mad run and almost cannon balled into his boss' back. He bent over to catch his breath, clutching a baggie from the gift store in one hand.

'Are you alright?' the young agent asked in concerned observing the man's red face.

'Kate…Kate just called from the helicopter' Stephen said breathlessly still trying to get his heart to slow down within the range of something human, 'she wants you to have this'

Reid took the bag with a panicked look, 'I didn't get her anything. Do you think she'll be mad?'

'Spence, I have it on very good authority that if you can JUST remember to call her, she will be very happy!' her uncle replied with a twinkle in his eye.

The man nodded his long haired head fervently. His ears were still recovering from the time he had forgotten to call her that one Christmas, three years ago.

Reid raised an eyebrow as he saw the security chief staring at him.

'Sir, I hope there are no hard feelings' Stephen said quietly.

The FBI agent held out his hand and the security expert shook it gratefully.

'Of course not' he said in surprise, 'you were doing your job. I feel a lot better knowing that Kate is under your protection'

Reid smiled unsurely as the man continued to stare at him in an unnatural fashion.

'Can I have your autograph?' the somber man blurted out unexpectedly.

Reid was a bit taken aback but didn't hesitate as the man thrust a book and pen at him. Stephen grinned even though his boss was sending him a look hot enough to scorch the sun.

Another quick round of goodbyes and one last lingering look and Reid ran across the courtyard and dived into the limo where the others were already seated.

As they drove off to the airport where the jet waited, the young agent kept his gaze on the rapidly disappearing city outside the window. He looked up at the bright blue sky, wondering what Kate was doing right now.

'Spence?' a gentle voice to his left said.

He smiled broadly glad that there was someone in the team who called him by that childhood name.

'I am fine JJ' he answered her as she squeezed his hand in hers.

The others looked at him compassionately as he smiled bravely at them all. Hotch for one was glad that they were leaving the city but he was sorry that Reid didn't get a chance to tell his friend goodbye. However, he knew that the girls were planning to bring Kate across to the capital for Reid's birthday and Garcia, master mind and party coordinator, had already sworn him to secrecy.

'Kate got me a present' the doctor chirped happily, sticking his head in the bag to see what she had bought him.

The profiler frowned as he pulled out a black T-shirt. He wasn't a jersey wearing guy and Kate knew that.

However, he shook out the folds as he placed the sports shirt under his chin to check the size.

There was a collective gasp from the group as they read the front.

'**I have a PhD in sexy!**'* was printed in big glittery lavender letters.

Excitedly, the young doctor pulled the garment over his head, ignoring the loud roar of laughter that filled the cab. As far as he was concerned, this was a great way to start the case and he let the team have their full as he twisted this way and that, proudly modeling his gift. Morgan rolled off his seat unto the floor, clutching his stomach as tears of laughter poured down his dark cheeks.

Reid fingered the letters decorating his chest, smiling happily that the first girl that he ever kissed still had a special place in her heart for him.

**The END **

**Anote2: 'I have a PhD in sexy!**'* is the sole property of my beta '_the vampire act'_

Goodbye everyone. Till the next story


End file.
